Cross My Heart
by FallingIsTheBestPart
Summary: Lucinda Gilbert is Elena's twin sister. After the death of her parents', she doesn't think anything will be the same. When the Salvatore brothers come to town, she can't help but feel an attraction to Damon, even if he is an annoying asshole who's dating her best friend. But he has a secret, and he's part of a world she's about to be dragged into. Damon / OC
1. Chapter 1: Pilot

**PILOT**

**_LUCINDA_**

I was born in Mystic Falls, with my twin, and my parents, and my little brother, Jeremy. I was born into a _normal _family, a _happy _family, with enough money to get by and enough love to make you think that it would never change. But it did. It changed. Looking back on it now, I realise that I didn't make the most of it whilst I still could; I took advantage of the happy family I had, and for that, I'll never forgive myself.

My parents were picking up me and my sister, Elena, from a stupid party at the falls, when we ran off Wickery Bridge. I was drunk, and Elena had wanted to get me home as son as possible, especially after her not so pleasant conversation with her at-the-time boyfriend.

I know that things will never be the same; ever since I woke up in the hospital to receive the news of their passing, I've known. But I don't want to know that. I want it all to stay exactly the way it was, with a close relationship with my mother, bickering with my father, being able to share anything with my sister (even though that's still the same) and a brother to fawn over, who loves me, looks up to me.

Back then, I thought that things would never get better, that everything after the deaths of my parents would be completely awful. I would bring them back if I could, but I don't regret meeting Stefan and Damon, and I don't regret anything that's happened since.

I stared at myself for a moment, in the mirror, just… watching. I knew that I didn't look like my parents, I never had, but then, all I wanted was to find some resemblance. Something they'd given to me that I could hopefully pass on. But there was nothing. I sighed, brushed my hair again, patting myself on the back for straightening my hair the night before. My clothes were simple, a white tank top under an unbuttoned jean shirt, white jeans and black, strappy sandals. I barely put any makeup on, remembering when my mum would look at me and frown and say, 'You're too pretty for that stuff'. I guess I just wanted to honour her in any way I could.

I walked down the stairs, I heard Jenna and Lena talking. My sister and I have always been close with Aunt Jenna, and she was the closest person we had to an older sister. Elena's not just my sister, you see, she's my best friend.

"Toast, I can make toast," my aunt said, probably stressing wildly. Her voice had a panicked undertone, like she had barely gotten any sleep the night before and it was catching up to her. I felt a twinge of sympathy, because I knew what it felt like. I barely sleep for 4 hours at night anymore.

"It's all about the coffee Aunt Jenna," my sister's voice, sounding amused. Lena had always been the strong one. I tried to put up my best front, but she was always super calm, like she was untouchable. I was one of the only people she opened up to, and for that I was extremely grateful. I didn't think I would've been able to cope if our relationship wasn't as close.

"Is there coffee?" I heard Jeremy say. _Silly boy, you're too young for coffee_, I thought. He'd changed, I knew. If you'd've asked him 6 months ago if he wanted coffee, or alcohol, or drugs, he would've made a face and said, 'No, that's stupid and lame'. My brother was now the definition of stupid and lame, but we all handle grief in different ways.

I entered the kitchen in time to see Jeremy steal a mug away from Elena, who glared at his back before sighing and pouring more. She looked tires, her lips pulled down at the corners and a wrinkle in between her eyebrows. I took the new cup she'd just made, making her sigh again. She made another, and took a sip, cringing slightly because she'd never really enjoyed coffee, but she drank it anyway. My guess is because it gave her more energy.

"Frowning provokes wrinkles," I said teasingly, taking a sip of the coffee. I made a face, "Not nearly enough milk,"

I added more, as Jenna sulked, "It's your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared."

"I'm good," I held up my mug, giving her a cheesy smile. I was good, sort of, better than I'd been on my lowest days, when I couldn't find the motivation to get out of bed in the morning, but this wasn't one of the worst, it was better than that, but I still wasn't at my best. I knew I wouldn't be my best for a long time.

Our aunt hopped from foot to foot, grimacing. "Anything else? A number two pencil? What am I forgetting?"

"Don't you have a big presentation today?" Elena asked, leaning against the counter with another sigh. She sure sighs a lot. Although I guess you couldn't blame her; sighing comes naturally to people who only have 3 close family members. I should know.

"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at… now." She closed her eyes for a moment, looking very fed up. "Crap,"

"Language," Lena scolded, but she was smiling.

"Just go, Aunt Jenna, we'll be fine," I told her, grabbing my bag and signalling to Elena it was time to go.

"You okay?" my sister asked Jeremy. Oh jeez, she had her 'concerned face' on.

"Don't start," he rolled her eyes, making my send him a disapproving look. He just flipped me off. The brother/sister relationship between us is a little off right now; I blame him.

"Fine," I heard Elena say, with a frown in her voice, "Absolutely fine,"

I met her eyes and we shared a sad smile.

"Let's face the world, twin,"

"So Grams is telling me I'm psychic-" Bonnie said, sat in the driver's seat of the car, with Elena next to her in the passengers, and me in the back.

"That's cool," I said, not really listening.

"Our ancestors were from Salem, witches and all that, I know, crazy-" she continued.

"Yep, ticket straight to the insane asylum," I broke in. "Hey, that reminds me of that episode of Supernatural, season 1, I think-"

Bonnie just kept on talking. "But she's just going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already! But then I start thinking-"

"That's dangerous," I smirked. She gave me a dry look, finally deciding to acknowledge me. Though, maybe she was just avoiding the possibility of one of my one sided conversations (with myself) about Supernatural.

"But then I start thinking," she repeated, "I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands."

"Who's Heath Ledger?" I asked, "And resort islands? I'm not too sure about that; it'll make Disney World that much more expensive," my forehead wrinkled in distaste.

Bonnie laughed, making me hmph. I turned to Elena, waiting for the familiar sound of her telling me to stop sulking, like she usually does, but instead I saw her staring out of the car window, face blank, eyes glazed over. I frowned, because these 'spaced out' moments, only started, like, 4 months ago.

"Elena!" I shouted. She jumped, looked between Bonnie and I. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and gave us an uneasy smile.

"Back in the car," Bonnie added. My sister sighed, ran a hand down her face.

"I did it again, didn't I? I-I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were saying…" she trailed off, looking at me desperately for a prompt.

"That Bonnie's psychic now," I told her. Our friend nodded in agreement.

"Right, okay then, predict something about me." She met my eyes, "About us,"

"I see…" she stopped suddenly, swerving as something hit the car. All I saw was a mass of black and feathers, and I heard a caw. I clutched a hand to my heart, breathing heavily as images from another time I'd been in a swerving car. The feeling of submerging in water, of not being able to breath, then a face, and a pair of beautiful blue eyes; eyes that haunted my dreams, and my every waking moment.

"What was that?" I breathed, trying (and failing) to calm down.

"Oh my God, Lucy, Elena, are you okay?" Bonnie asked, turning around to see my face. One of her hands reached out to grab mine, the other to grab Elena's. The look of worry on her face warmed my heart, and I smiled at her. It was small, and shaky, but it was a smile.

"It's okay, we're fine," Elena answered.

I added, "Totally fine." She didn't look convinced "It was like a bird, or something. It came out of nowhere." I assured her. My twin and I weren't about to blame Bonnie when it was obviously the birds fault. Stupid animal kingdom.

"Really, we can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of our lives." My sister looked determined, and I nodded in agreement.

"I predict this year is gonna be kick ass." Bonnie announced. I gave her a doubtful look.

"Is that the clairvoyance talking?" I asked unhelpfully. She pushed my shoulder gently, shaking her head. "I predict that all the sad and dark times are over and you," she looked at us, "are both going to be beyond happy."

I nodded, saw Elena do the same, and we replied in complete unison, "I hope so." We looked at each other, pulling the exact same faces at the exact same time as Bonnie put the car back into drive and got back on the road.

"Bonnie, she's copying me," We whinged at the same time.

"Seriously, you need to stop that," Together again.

"I mean it!" And again.

"I'm being serious!" And again.

"I'm being serious when I say: both of you stop," our friend glared.

"But you can't be Sirius," Elena started.

"Sirius is dead," I finished.

"Too soon," was Bonnie reply. I relaxed back into my seat, staring out of the window as we passed that sign, the one that I always read when I pass and then forget what it says as soon as it's passed. But something was different this time. There was a crow, probably the bird that hit our car, perched on the sign. I froze, a feeling of dread creeping over me.

"Did you see that?" I asked, biting my lip.

"See what?" Bonnie asked, looking around, but the bird was already gone.

"Major lack of male real estate," Bon sounded disapproving, "Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beech. She looks like a hot-"

"No, you can no longer say 'tranny-mess'," I told her, before she even spoke the words. She frowned.

"Yeah," Elena agreed, "No, that's over,"

"Ahh, find a man, coin a phrase. It's a busy year,"

I saw Matt by his locker down the hall. He looked so sad, his eyes so blue, and I had to stop myself from hugging him to death. Lena waved to him, but he just turned away.

"Why'd you have to break poor Mattie Blue Blue's heart?" I pouted. My sister rubbed her eyes.

"He hates me," she declared, so dramatically that even I had to roll my eyes. This is Matt we're talking about, Matt, as in child best friend. He's more likely to move to Mexico and change his name to José than hate Elena.

"That's not hate," Bonnie shook her head, "That's 'you dumped me, but I'm too cool to show, but secretly I'm listening to Air Supply's greatest hits',"

"What's air supply?" I asked, but my voice was muffled by the hug Caroline had just pulled me and Elena in to. I groaned. I thought the sympathy train had already passed this stop in summer.

"Lu Lu, Elena, Oh, My God," she said warmly, and I had to hold back a smile at the use of the nickname. My friends call me Lucy, Care calls me Lu Lu and Elena calls me Twin.

"How are you? Oh, it's so good to see you," Care said, then turned to Bon with a serious look, "How are they, are they good,"

"Caroline, we're right here," Elena said with a very long suffering, audible sigh. I mimicked her. "We're fine."

"Really?" the blonde asked, staring straight into her eyes, "Really?" she repeated.

"Yes," Elena said blankly.

"Much better," I finished.

"Oh, you poor things," Caroline pulled us back into the hug, and I was starting to get uncomfortable, because my head was pressed right into her boobs and… homie don't play that.

"Okay, Caroline," Elena said. I said nothing, not wanting to use up any of the oxygen I had left.

The hug ended right when I was starting to feel light headed, and I put on the lockers behind me to keep from falling over.

"Oh!" the blonde chirped, "Okay, see you guys later?"

"Okay!" Bonnie said back.

"Bye!" I called after her, shaking my head and laughing. That's our Caroline, alright.

"No comment," Elena grinned.

"I'm not going to say anything," Bon agreed. I pulled my lips into a straight line.

"You should be nicer to her," I muttered, but neither of them heard me, so I just kept trailing along beside them.

We were just passing the school office when Bonnie stopped walking, her head turned to look through the doorway. "Hold up," she grinned, "Who's this?"

"All I see is back," I frowned, looking to Elena for help. Was I supposed to be attracted to his back? Or was Bonnie admiring his leather jacket? I had to say, it was nice. I wonder if they sell a female version. Maybe if I ask nicely he'll tell me? Or better yet, give me his?

"It's a hot back." Bonnie said back to me, but her suggestive eyes were on Elena. Oh, so not talking about the jacket. Ah, well, I can still ask him, right?

"I'm sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar," my psychic friend put her hands on her hips.

"You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground-" Elena started.

"Aren't you?" I finished.

"Pretty much," she said back. She was so used to us finishing each other's sentences she barely even noticed anymore.

"Jeremy, good batch man," that was something else, a male voice, but the 'who' wasn't really what bothered me, or what bothered Elena. There is only one Jeremy at this school, and he sure as hell should not be giving good batches to anyone.

"I'll be right back," Elena told us, before following our younger brother into the bathroom. I watched nervously, hearing Bonnie mutter something about someone being hot. I hit the back of her head.

"Not what you should be thinking right now," I laughed, then followed my siblings into the men's room.

Trust me, it's disgusting in there. The walls floors were wet, the toilets stank and there was no soap in the dispensers.

"Great. It's the first day of school and you're stoned." Elena sounded really angry. If she wasn't my twin, I would be scared.

"No, I'm not," he tried to deny it, but it was written all over his face. I frowned.

"Where is it? Is it on you?" she patted him down, roughly by the looks of it, and he shoved her off of him.

"Stop, alright? You need to chill yourself, alright?" he shouted.

"Chill myself?" her voice was cold now. Ooh, bad move, baby bro, "What is that, stoner talk? Dude, you are so cool."

"Look, stop! I don't have anything on me. Are you crazy?"

Oh, Jeremy, have you learned nothing? Death sentence signed. Don't worry, little brother, I'll give you a nice headstone.

"You haven't seen crazy, Jeremy! I gave you a summer pass, but I am done watching you destroy yourself. No, no, no, you know what? Go ahead," I raised my eyebrows, "Keep it up." Is she being serious? "But just know that I am going to be there to ruin our buzz every time, you got it?" Oh, now I get it, "Jeremy, I know who you are. And it's not this person. So don't be this person."

"I don't need this," our brother snapped, bumping shoulders with me on the way out.

"That boy is getting on my last nerve," she muttered as she walked past me. Outside, she bumped into a boy I'd never seen before. His jacket… I've seen that jacket… OH! He was the new boy Bonnie was checking out.

"Uh, pardon me. Um… is this the men's room?" he asked, sounding adorably confused. Elena blushed.

"Yes. Um, I was just, we just, um – it's a long story," my sister stuttered. I face palmed. Way to flirt, Elena! Not! She moved past him, and he let her, standing so that she would fit.

"Thank you," she sounded breathless. I followed her as she walked away, a teasing smile lighting up my face.

"Thank you," I mocked in an overly flirty, breathy voice.

"Oh, stop it, you," she huffed, but she was grinning.

"Once our home state of Virginia joined confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state. People in Virginia's northwest region had different ideals than those from the traditional Deep South. Then Virginia divided in 1863 with the northwest region joining the union…" Mr Tanner, our history teacher, said in that monotonous voice he always used. I used to love history, but now he's the most boring person in the world. And the meanest. You get one date wrong, one question wrong, and he'll put salt on that wound.

I looked to the seat next to me, which is usually empty, but now contains a pretty, blonde girl with big blue eyes and a nervous look. I smiled at her, and made a _psst _noise to get her to look at me. She did.

"Hi," I whispered, "I'm Lucinda, but most people call me Lucy." I introduced, "I would shake your hand, but it's best not to put you in Tanner's bad books,"

She grinned back at me, "I'm Laurel, but my friends call me Elle," she paused, smile widening, "At least they would if I had any friends,"

I laughed, loudly, and Tanner glared at me before carrying on with his long, detailed description of… whatever we were learning about.

"I believe this is the start of a beautiful friendship," I murmured to her.

"Indeed," she murmured back.

"We're meeting Bonnie at the grill," Elena told Jenna as I laced up my converse.

"Okay, have fun." She stopped, "Wait, I got this, don't stay out late, it's a school night,"

"Well done Aunt Jenna," I laughed as Lena opened the front door.

"Oh," I heard her say in the way that she only did when there was a good looking boy at the door.

"Sorry, I was," that voice, where do I know that voice from? "I was about to knock. I wanted to apologize or my disappearing act earlier. I know it was… strange."

Disappearing act? Elena talked to a boy and didn't tell me! Bad sister, she gets all the shame!

"No worries," she said, with a small giggle. Ooh, she's got her flirt on, "I get it: blood makes you squeamish."

"Um, something like that," he replied. I decided now was about time to make my presence known. "Hi, you're Stefan, right?" I asked with a friendly smile. He met my eyes, but Lena didn't look away from him.

"Yes, you must be Lucinda," he said with a smile of his own, before turning to my sister, "How's your leg?"

"Oh, it's fine. Just a scratch, barely," she lied. I was there when she got home earlier; she was limping and crying from the pain. I had to patch the damn thing up for her. "How did you know where I lived?"

"It's a small town, twin," I laughed, "He probably just asked the first person he saw."

"Yeah," he gave me a grateful smile, "Um, I thought you might want this back,"

He held his hand out, and in it was Elena's mint green diary. I would recognize it anywhere; we had two matching ones. Of course, I barely used mine; I only started the night my parents died, before the party. I jotted down all of the problems and how I felt about Elena and Matt, and how Caroline was acting crazy, and about the bad feeling that I got all through the day. Then, I wrote, after, how I felt about my parents' deaths, and the rift between Jeremy and I, and the blue eyed man who I hadn't seen since.

"Oh, I must have dropped it," Elena looked wide eyed, "I-thank you,"

"Don't worry, I didn't… read it," he assured her. I eyed him, noticing he was still wearing the leather jacket.

"No? Why not?" she sounded surprised.

I added, "Most people would have,"

"Well, I wouldn't want anyone to read mine," he ran a hand through his hair. My eyebrows rose to my hairline. He and my sister really were perfect for each other.

"You keep a journal?" her voice was low and urgent, but I noticed the flirty undertone. Seriously? I'm right here, girl.

"Yeah, if I don't write it down, I'll forget it." He looked deeply into her eyes, "Memories are too important,"

"I'm going to grab my bag, twin," I told her, moving back down the hall.

"Okay!" she called after me, then I heard her say to Stefan, "Yeah, I'm just gonna… umm, you don't have to stay out there,"

I heard her footsteps go up the stairs as I grabbed my stuff from the table and walked back to the door.

"I'm fine!" he called back to her.

We reached him at the same time, and she gave him a strange look. He just shrugged.

"Sorry, were you going somewhere?" he asked us, although he was only looking at Elena. God, it's like I wasn't even there.

"Yeah, we're meeting a friend." She grinned, "Do you want to come?"

"Well, I'm going t head out now," I winked at Elena, "Take all the time you need,"

I sat with Bonnie in the grill. Caroline was talking to some other girls from our school, and Matt was with Tyler. Well, he was talking to Tyler, now he was walking to us.

"How's Elena doing?" he asked. God, what am I, chopped liver?

"Our mum and dad died. How do you think?" I snapped, and he gave me a guilty look.

"She's putting on a good face, but it's only been four months." Bonnie added, patting my shoulder in a sensitive way.

"Has she said anything about me?" he asked me this time.

"Oh, no, so not getting in the middle. You pick up the phone and call her," I reached up to flick his arm and prove the seriousness of the statement. He smiled; we hadn't really spoken since it all happened.

"I feel weird calling her. She broke up with me."

"Give it more time, Matt," Bonnie soothed.

We all turned when we heard the door slam, and in walked Elena and Stefan, looking deep in conversation.

"More time, huh?" his face had dropped, and I gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Mattie Blue Blue, she's not doing it to hurt you," I said softly. He just scoffed and walked to the pair. They looked good together, which means we'd look good together, too, but I just couldn't muster any sort of attraction to the boy. I would never admit this out loud, but I'm sure it had something to do with the person who saved me. Until I stopped dreaming about him and really _met _him, I didn't think I'd be able to move on. I needed closure, and something told me I wasn't going to get that for a very long time.

Caroline came to sit with us at the same time Elena and Stefan reached us. I shared a look with Bonnie; Care may be my best friend, but even I knew that she'd try to lure Stefan away from my sister, and that wasn't cool with me.

"So," Care said, batting her eyelashes, "You were born in Mystic Falls?"

"Mmm hmm," he answered, eyes not moving from Elena, "And moved away when I was still young."

"Parents?" Bonnie asked this time.

"My parents passed away," he replied.

"I'm sorry," Elena said, and she meant it, her eyes flickered to me, and then back again, "Any siblings?"

"None that I talk to," he told her.

None that he spoke to? That meant he had at least one. Ooh, I wondered if he had a brother, and I wondered if he was as good looking as him.

"I live with my uncle," Stefan finished.

"So, Stefan, if you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow." Caroline giggled to him, and the look on his face could only be described as uncomfortable.

"It's a back to school thing," Bonnie elaborated.

"At the falls," I continued.

He looked at my sister, "Are you going?"

"Of course she is," Bonnie and I answered for her, at the same time. Elena grinned and nodded at Stefan, who grinned and nodded back.

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How Many casualties resulted in this battle? Miss Bennett?" Tanner asked sternly. I glanced over at Bon, who was staring at the teacher with wide, scared eyes. _Guess she doesn't know the answer._

"Um… a lot?" she floundered, "I'm not sure, but, like, a whole lot," she gave him her best adorable smile. I winced. This definitely wouldn't end well.

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Miss Bennett. Mr Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

"It's okay. Mr Tanner, I'm cool with it," Matt gave him a thumbs-up.

"Hmm," he gave the football player a dirty look, "Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?"

"I'm sorry, I-I don't know." She stuttered, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena," he looked over at me, "Lucinda, but the personal excuses ended with summer break."

I let scowled at him, "Mr Tanner-" I started, ready to give him a piece of my mind, but Stefan interrupted.

"There were 346 casualties." He said with a patronising smile, "Unless you're counting local civilians."

"That's correct," Tanner didn't sound impressed, though, he sounded disappointed, like he'd wanted him to be wrong. Of course, he probably had, "Mr…"

"Salvatore,"

"Salvatore," Tanner repeated, "Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"

Stefan looked strangely amused at his question, "Distant."

"Well, very good," the words came out of Tanner's mouth with venom; "Except, of course, there were no civilians casualties in this battles."

"Actually, there were 27, sir," Stefan said, "Confederate soldiers; they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss."

"The founders' archives are stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr Tanner," I sassed, and the class laughed. I mouthed 'thank you' to Stefan. He nodded back, understanding. He stuck up for my sister; he is now officially in my good books.

"Just admit it, Elena," I poked her side. We were at the party, stood with Bonnie and waiting for Stefan to turn up. It was dark, the only light coming from the various campfires dotted around the clearing. People were milling about, talking, some kissing, some dancing, most drinking. I don't know, I just hadn't enjoyed parties all that much since the accident. We were at a party before it happened.

"Oh, okay, so he's a little pretty," Elena admitted, and she got this wistful look on her face.

"He has that romance novel stare," Bonnie giggled, and Elena blushed. I laughed and poked her again.

"I'm going to go catch up with Care," I told them, before doing just that.

I reached her at the same moment she reached Stefan.

"Hey! You made it!" she said to him and I rolled my eyes.

"I did," he replied. I shook my head and walked away, hearing Caroline, behind me, say, "Well, let's get you a drink."

I joined Bonnie and Elena again, a little disappointed with Caroline. "So, where is he?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know, you tell me, you're the psychic one." Elena laughed and I snorted a little.

"Right, I forgot," Bonnie pulled on a strand of her hair, "Okay, give me a sec. Grams says I have to concentrate."

"Wait, you need a crystal ball," I burst out. Elena handed Bon her empty beer bottle, and there skin connected for a second. Our friend looked completely out of it for a second, and I clapped in her face. She jumped, stared wide eyed at her for a second, before pulling her hand back, like she'd been burned.

"What?" Elena asked, mystified.

"That was weird," Bonnie cleared her throat, "When I touched you, I saw a crow,"

"A crow?" I questioned, confused.

"What?" Elena implored.

"A crow. There was fog, a man." She took a step back. "I'm drunk, it's the drinking. There's nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Okay, I'm going to get a refill." She left quickly.

"Bonnie?" my sister called out after her. She turned quickly, frowning, but bumped into Stefan.

"Hi," he said to her.

"Hi," she said back.

"I'm going to go find Bonnie, or Caroline, or Matt, or someone. Bye." I left quickly, not wanting to interrupt.

"Bye!" I heard Elena shout behind me. I waved my hand briefly in acknowledgment.

I met Matt near the edge of the woods. He was staring at Elena longingly, and I slapped the back of his head. He turned to me with a glare.

"I know that you love her, Matt, but you need to stop pining. She loved you, and she still does, but it's not the same anymore. Even if you were to go out again, it would never be as good as it was back then," I sighed.

"I know," he murmured, "I just don't want it to be over,"

"Mattie Blue Blue, it'll be okay," I hugged him, "It'll get better,"

"Thank you," he whispered.

"It's cool,"

**_*ELENA*_**

"I was wondering who abducted you," I grinned at Stefan, "But now I know."

He had been talking to Caroline, and if his uncomfortable expression was anything to go by, she'd been trying it on with him.

"Is she like that with, uh," he cleared his throat, "all the guys,"

I shrugged, knowing Caroline's behaviour pretty well, "No, you're just fresh meat. She'll back off eventually," I assured him. Stefan nodded, and started to say something, but my eyes were drawn to something behind him. Jeremy was walking to the woods, looking shifty and very drunk. I sighed. "God, you've got to be kidding me!"

"What is it?" Stefan asked, and I gave him a grudging smile.

"My brother,"

"The drunk one?" he asked, and I felt an embarrassed blush cover my cheeks.

"That would be the one," I mumbled, "Excuse me."

I started to walk away, hearing him ask if I needed any help, but I just turned to look at him over my shoulder and groaned, "Trust me; you're not going to want to witness this." I hurried into the woods behind my brother, calling, "Jeremy! Jeremy!"

I caught up with him after around 5 minutes of walking. "Jeremy, where the hell are you going?" I asked him, slightly out of breath. He didn't even look at me.

"I don't want to hear it," he snapped at me, and I grabbed his arm, stopping him from walking any further.

"Yeah, well, too bad!" Ugh, he was such a problem child. Couldn't he find another way to deal with mum and dad's death that didn't involve becoming a brat? I sighed; _no, I shouldn't think like that, he's been through a lot._

He yanked himself away from me and carried on, tripping after a few steps. He turned his head to the side, raising himself up on his arms. A look of horror consumed his face.

"Vicki!" he shouted, "No! Oh my God, it's Vicki!"

"Oh my God," I gasped, because Vicki was just lying there, completely unconscious.

"Pick her up, Jer, we've got to get her back to the party so we can call an ambulance!" I instructed. He did as he was told, looking near tears, and we walked as fast as we could to the clearing.

"Somebody help!" I shouted. Matt ran to us, taking his sister from Jeremy.

"Vicki?" he whispered, before his voice grew louder, "Vicki, what the hell?!"

"What happened to here?" Tyler demanded.

Matt yelled, "Somebody, call an ambulance!"

"Everybody back up!" Ty shouted, "Give her some space!"

"It's her neck," I ripped the bottom off my shirt and pressed it to the wound, "Something bit her, she's losing a lot of blood."

"Vicki, Vicki, come on," Matt said, voice thick, "Open your eyes, look at me, come one,"

**_*DAMON*_**

I saw Stefan pacing his bedroom, looking distraught. My fun with Vicki must have worried him. I laughed and sent the crow inside. He jumped and spun around.

"Damon," he growled.

I stepped onto the balcony, in full view.

"Hello, brother."

He sighed. "Crow's a bit much, don't you think?"

"Wait 'til you see what I can do with the fog," I said with a smirk. He glared at me.

"When'd you get here?" my brother asked.

"Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school," I mocked, "Your hair's different; I like it."

"It's been 15 years, Damon," he groaned. I smiled at him, a completely fake smile that really meant the opposite.

"Thank God. I couldn't take another day of the nineties," I said, and that was the truth. "That horrible grunge look did not suit you. Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads."

"Why are you here?" he demanded. Please, like I was about to tell him that.

"I miss my little brother," I teased. He took a step toward me.

"You hate small towns. It's boring. There's nothing for you to do." He said matter-of-factly. Oh, Stefan, you know me so well.

"I've managed to keep myself busy." I told him, and I had. That couple… tasty. And that girl, in the woods, the one that those two boys were so taken with, she put up a fight. The chase is always the best part.

"You know, you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you." Stefan said, furrowing his brow.

"Ah. That could be a problem." I said with faux anxiety, "for you."

"Why are you here now?" he queried.

"I could ask you the same question. However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all in to one little word: Elena," I said, smirking again. Aah, Elena, the girl who looks just like Katherine. And human. I wondered how she would taste. Back on that night, when her car ran off Wickery Bridge, I so badly wanted a taste, but I didn't even touch her again after setting her down on the side of the road; which confused even me, because I'm not usually one to leave people alive.

"She took my breath away, Elena," I continued, "She's a dead ringer for Katherine. Is it working, Stefan? Being in her world? Does it make you feel alive?"

"She's not Katherine," he said stiffly, but there was something in his voice, like he was confused.

"Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended." I gave him a grim look, which he returned with a frown. "Tell me something, when was the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?"

I was genuinely curious. "I know what you're doing, Damon," Stefan growled, "It's not going to work,"

"Yeah?" I grinned maliciously, "Come on. Don't you crave a little?"

I started hitting him as hard as I could.

"Stop it," he told me.

"Let's do it. Together. I saw a couple girls out there. Or just, let's cut to the chase, let's just go straight for Elena," I got louder.

"Stop it!" It was a yell this time.

"Imagine what her blood tastes like," I shout, watching the veins appear under my brothers eyes. Then I said what I knew would make him crazy. I licked my lips, "I can."

He tackled me, pushing us both out of the window with a shattering of glass. He landed on the pavement with a loud moan of pain, but I just landed on my feet. I smirked.

"I was impressed. I give it a six," I said to him, "Missing style, but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face," I imitated him, "thing. It was good."

"You know, it's all fun and games Damon, huh?" Stefan pulled himself up so he was standing. "But wherever you go, people die,"

I gave him an unimpressed look, "That's a given," I said matter-of-factly.

"Not here." Stefan insisted, "I won't allow it,"

"I take that as an invitation." I folded my arms.

"Damon, please. After all these years, can't we just give it a rest?" he pleaded.

"I promised you an eternity of misery," I curled my lip, "So I'm just keeping my word."

"Just stay away from Elena." He ordered me.

"Where's your ring?" I asked, widening my eyes, "Oh, yeah, sun's coming up in a couple of hours, and, poof, ashes to ashes."

He looked horrified, checking his hand and then staring at me.

"Relax," I laughed, "It's right here," I held it up before grabbing him by the throat and throwing him as far as I could, which, I've got to say, was pretty far.

Making my way over to him, I put my face close to his and said in a threatening voice, "You should know better than to think you're better than me. You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people. I wouldn't try it again,"

I stood, heard shuffling inside the boarding house. "I think we woke Zach up,"

I left Stefan on the ground and walked to the front door. "Sorry, Zach," I called up to him, but, of course, I didn't mean it.

I sat down in the Mystic Grill, looking out for someone to feed on. Maybe I'll keep this one around for a while, could be useful.

"Are you sober yet?" I heard a very familiar voice ask. It was Elena, but it couldn't be. I made sure before I came here; she was at home. What on earth…?

"No," another voice said, coming from a pretty blonde who looked mildly intoxicated.

"Keep drinking," this time it was the girl with darker skin and black hair that spoke, "We've got to get you home. We've got to get us home,"

"Why didn't he go for me," the blonde whinged, "You know, how come the guys that I want, never want me?"

"I'm not touching that," Elena and the other girl said at the same time.

"I'm inappropriate. I always say the wrong thing. And… Elena always says the right thing. She doesn't even try, and he just picks her!"

Why was she talking like Elena wasn't there?

"Care… this isn't her fault." The one that I thought was Elena said.

"Of course you say that, she's your sister, your twin sister! But she's the one that everyone picks, for everything. And I try so hard, and… I'm never the one."

Twin sister? Elena had a twin sister?

One each, that could work. I smirked. I want a Gilbert, at least I do until I get my Katherine back.

"It's not a competition, Caroline," the other girl said.

"Yeah it is, Bonnie." was Caroline's reply.

So Caroline was friends with Elena, and Elena's twin, she was reasonably good looking, and seemingly easy to manipulate, low self-esteem… perfect.

The Twin stood up. "I've got to go home, or Twin's going to have my head on a pike," she looked at Bonnie, "Can you get her home?"

"Of course," Bonnie replied, "I'm just going to grab her a to go coffee for the road,"

They both left, and Caroline looked up to meet my eyes. I smiled at her, and she gave me a very large, flirty smile back.

This will be fun.

**_*STEFAN*_**

I stood on Elena's porch, trying to find the courage to knock, because, well, she made me nervous, but I liked that. I hadn't felt things as strongly as I do when I'm around her in a long, long time. I never knew how much I missed it until then.

The door opened, and there she stood in the same jeans and red t shirt she was wearing earlier. She smiled at me, but she looked confused, and I knew it was because I just turned up completely out of the blue.

"I know it's late," I said, giving her a smile, "But, uh… I needed to know that you were okay."

Her eyebrows knit together, and I had to stop myself from kissing away the lines. I had a feeling she wouldn't appreciate that, and there was a chance I wouldn't be able to control myself.

"You know," she said softly, "For months, that's all anyone's wondered about me. If I'll be okay."

I stared deeply into her eyes, and they were the most beautiful chocolate colour, "What do you tell them?"

She looked down, "That I'll be fine,"

"Do you ever mean it?"

"Ask me tomorrow," she smiled, "It's warmer in the house. We can talk. Would you like to come in?"

I blinked, before tilting my head down and looking up at her, lips tilting upward. "Yes."


	2. Chapter 2: The Night of The Comet

**_LUCINDA_**

"Do I look adult?" was the first thing I heard as soon as I stepped out of my room. My hair was curled and I wore a pair of black skinny jeans and a purple tank top, with some high heeled boots. Jenna stood in front of me, in a pretty purple dress and tall stilettos. "As in respectfully parental?"

"Depends on where you're going." I told her, leaning against the doorframe to my bedroom.

"Jeremy's parent-teacher conference," she informed me, "Hair up or down?"

She bundled up her hair. "Sexy stewardess."

She let it fall down. "Boozy housewife."

"Up it is," she sighed. I followed her down the stairs, seeing Elena in the kitchen with a coffee. Her hair was, as usual, straight, and she had on her favourite converses.

"You're feisty today," my twin told me. I shrugged, grinning.

"I feel good, which is rare. So I've decided to go with it. Fly free, walk on sunshine, and all that stuff. Where's Jeremy?" I said. The real reason I was in a good mood was because, for the first time since the accident, I didn't dream of it, or of the pair of blue eyes I now knew as well as the back of my hand.

"He left early, something about getting to wood shop early to finish a birdhouse," Jenna told us, and I shared a look with Elena.

"There is no wood shop, Aunt Jenna," Elena said, "He probably went to go and see Vicki,"

I didn't really approve of the relationship, but I understood that he cared about her, so seeing her was a given.

"We've got to go," I said, "It's my turn to drive."

Bonnie and I take it in turns to drive ourselves to school, reducing our carbon footprint and everything. To be honest, the days I drive are the best. I love my car more than I love my sister. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I really do love it.

It's a beautiful black Chevy Impala, so clean it shines and so smooth you wouldn't believe it's from the '67.

"Let's go, then," Lena said, "Bye Jenna!"

"Good luck!" I shouted.

"Good luck with what?" my sister asked.

"Parent-teacher thing with Mr Tanner," I explained, and she shouted good luck, too.

"I'm confused, are you psychic or clairvoyant?" Caroline asked as we walked with Bonnie down the hall. Elena had left us earlier to talk to Stefan.

"Technically, Grams says I'm a witch," Bon said. I smiled and imitated a witch's cackle. She elbowed me in the ribs. "My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something. Grams tried to explain it all, but she was looped on the liquor so I kinda tuned out. Crazy family, yes, witches? I don't think so."

"You never know," I said with a smile.

"Yeah, well, feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night." Caroline said with a grin. Bonnie and I exchanged a look.

"We didn't see him, you did," I said, holding my hands up.

"Why didn't you just talk to him?" Bon asked with a shake of her head.

"I don't know," Caroline replied, "I was drunk,"

"They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection, but she should be able to come tomorrow," Matt told us, sounding worried. Elena and I were walking with him, asking about Vicki to make sure she's okay. The animal attack the night before was brutal; what's worse is that Jeremy was the one that found her.

"That's good news," Elena said, nodding.

"Yeah," was Matt's reply, but he sounded distraught.

"Did you get in touch with your mum?" I asked, and Matt shook his head with a short, humourless laugh.

"Called and left a message. She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend, so… we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home." He glared at the floor.

"Vicki's lucky that she's okay," Lena said, placing a hand on Matt's shoulder to comfort him. He shrugged it off.

"I know, and now there's talk of some missing campers," he sighed, "It's all so crazy,"

I asked, "Did she say what kind of animal it was that attacked her?"

"She said it was a vampire,"

"What?" Elena and I said at the same time.

"Yeah, she wakes up last night and mutters 'vampire' and then passes out," he shook his head.

"Okay," Lena said, "That's weird."

"Totally," I agreed.

"I think she was drunk," he looked at Elena, "So what's up with you and the new guy?"

Elena floundered, "Matt, the last thing I want to do is hurt you," she told him, eyes flickering to where Stefan was sat on a bench not too far from us.

"You know, I'm… I'm actually going to go back to the hospital," he awkwardly waved goodbye t us, "I want to be there when Vicki wakes up, get the real story about last night."

"Bye!" we called to his retreating figure. We turned and started to walk to Stefan, but he was gone.

I was walking to Tanner's class at lunch to give him an extra-credit assignment, when I heard him talking.

"Are there any other relatives in the picture?"

"I'm there sole guardian," that was Jenna! Oh, she did say it was the parent-teacher conference today!

"Uh-huh. Could there be?" he said rudely. I walked in then, knocking on the open door and standing awkwardly.

"I, uh, brought this," I held up the folder.

"Just put it on my desk," I nodded and did as he said, sending Jenna a reassuring smile.

I left quickly, feeling guilty. Aunt Jenna was so getting Tanner-ed.

"So, anything new my witchy friend?" I teased, and Bonnie grinned. We were sat at the grill, with Care and Elena.

"Well, I was talking to Grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom." Bonnie said, leaning an elbow on the table in front of us and resting her chin on her hand, "The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity,"

"Yeah," Caroline rolled her eyes, "And then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens."

I pushed her shoulder and gave her a warning look.

"Sorry," she muttered to Bonnie, before turning on a bright smile and looking at Elena. "So then what?"

"So then nothing." Lena frowned.

"You and Stefan talked all night?" Care said in disbelief, "There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?"

"Nope." My sister sounded disappointed, "We didn't go there,"

"She's not lying, trust me, I would've heard." I said with a grimace.

"Not even a handshake?" Care was relentless, and Elena shook her head, "I mean, Elena, we're your friends, okay? You are supposed to share the smut!"

I gave her a look of disgust, "I most definitely do not want to hear smut. She's my sister!"

"Besides," Elena's voice was stiff, "We just talked for hours."

"Ok, what is with the blockage," my blonde friend leant forward, and I shared a look with Bonnie behind her back. "Just jump his bones already! Okay, it's easy…"

I covered my ears with my hands, not wanting to hear her dirty suggestions by making loud 'la, la, la, la, la' noises.

I removed them in time to hear Lena say, "Profound," sarcastically. My sister stood up, and we all looked at her in confusion.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked, and I raised my eyebrows.

"Caroline's right, it is easy." Elena said, "If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying I was going to do."

"Well, I'm coming too," I stood up along with her, "I still need to ask Stefan where he got that jacket."

When we reached the boarding house, I turned to Elena. "Okay, once we go in there, there's no turning back," I told her.

"I know," she said, "So let's just do this."

She squared her shoulders and knocked the door. There was no response, and it just swung open. "Maybe we should wait…?" she suggested. I slapped the back of her head.

"No chickening out! The door's open, let's just go in." I said, pushing the door and doing just that.

She followed me in, and we stared with wide eyes.

"This place is huge," I breathed, pushing my curls out of my face.

"Stefan!" Lena shouted, "Stefan!"

I heard a caw and spun around, seeing a crow fly through the door like it owned the place. I stared at it for a moment before saying, "I know that crow! Oh, that rhymed! I'm a poet and I didn't know it!"

I grinned like an idiot and turned around again, but I came face to chest with someone. I stumbled a step back to look up at the person.

His face was completely unrecognizable. His hair was black and there was something so familiar about his blue eyes.

"We-we're sorry for barging in. The door was," Elena glanced behind her, only to see the door was closed, "Open," she gave me a confused look, but I was still staring intently at the man.

"Do I know you?" I asked, and he smiled charmingly.

"No, I would remember you," he said. I narrowed my eyes, because he was lying. I can always tell when someone is lying.

"You must be Elena," he turned to her for a second, before looking back at me, "And you… you must be Lucinda. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."

"He didn't tell me he had a brother," Elena frowned.

"Well, that's not strictly true," I corrected, "He said he had siblings, he just doesn't talk to them,"

Damon smirked at me, taking a step closer. I moved one back, giving him a warning stare. My sister looked between us with a smile and she winked at me.

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag." Laughed Damon. "Please, come in, I'm sure Stefan will be along any second,"

We followed him further inside, and Elena elbowed me before grinning suggestively. "We can have a brother each," she whispered. Damon glanced back at us, to check if we were following, and he had an annoying grin on his face. If I didn't know any better, I would've said he heard her.

"Just because you're almost dating Stefan, does not mean that I want the other Salvatore." I grumbled.

"But you've always been a sucker for blue eyes," she argued, and I punched her arm. She just laughed.

"Wow, this is your living room?" I asked Damon, as he stopped in a really big, well decorated room. He smiled.

"Living room, parlour, Sotheby's auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste." He placed his hand on my back and met Elena's eyes, "I see why my brother's so smitten. It's about time. For a while there, I thought he'd never get over the last one."

My sister's face closed down, "The last one?"

I pulled myself away from Damon, and scowled. So now I see it; he only invited us in to try and ruin my sister's relationship.

"Yeah, Katherine," he nodded, but his eyes were on me, a frown on his face, as if he was wondering why I moved, "Hid girlfriend. Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet."

"Nope," I told him coldly.

"Oops," he said, though he didn't sound too regretful, "Well, I'm sure it'll come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound." I leaned closer to her, "We all know how those relationships end."

"You say it like every relationship is doomed to end," Elena flicked her hair. I folded my arms.

"I'm a fatalist," he shrugged, "Hello, Stefan,"

I looked behind me, to see Stefan. "Elena, Lucinda," Stefan's voice was dark, "I didn't know you were coming over,"

"I know, I should have called, I just…" she trailed off, because Stefan wasn't looking at her, he was glaring at Damon.

"Oh, don't be silly. You're both welcome any time," Damon winked at me, "Aren't they, Stefan? You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies, but… I have to warn you," his voice dropped to a stage whisper, "He wasn't always such a looker."

"Thank you for stopping by, girls, it was nice to see you," Stefan said, a clear tell that he wanted us to leave. I raised my eyebrows.

"Great meeting you, too, girls," Damon smirked.

My sister walked to the door and stopped in front of Stefan, as he was blocking her way. "Stefan." She said, "Stefan?"

He moved out of her way and she left. I made no move to follow her. Instead I moved closer to Damon and poked my finger in his chest.

"Whatever you're trying to do, don't." I glared, "My family means everything to me, and my sister likes your brother. So stay out of it, or I swear I will hurt you in ways that haven't even been invented yet."

I move to the door, "Bye Stefan," I say as I pass him.

"What took you so long?" Elena asked from the passenger seat of the car.

"Just making something clear."

**_*DAMON*_**

I watched the girl, Lucinda, walk away. She was growing on me, that's for sure. "Great gal's. Whoo, they got spunk. Especially, the twin, Lucinda. I'm guessing you were trying to keep her a secret from me," I looked him up and down, "You, on the other hand, look pooped. Did you over-exert yourself today? Let me guess… hospital."

"Someone had to clean up your mess," Stefan said shortly.

"Well, were you successful?" I asked curiously, "Did the powers of persuasion work? Remember, if you don't feed, none of those nifty little tricks work right."

"How long were Lucinda and Elena here?" my brother demanded. I smiled.

"Were you worried, Stefan? Scared we may be doomed to repeat the past? Isn't that why you play your little game, 'I'm a high school human'?" I folded my arms, "But, of course, there's two now. We can have one each." I raised my hand, "I dibs the curly one,"

"I'm not playing any game," he muttered.

"Of course you are," I snorted, "We both know the closest you'll ever get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it."

"What kind of game are you playing, Damon?" Stefan narrowed his eyes.

"Guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" I wiggled my eyebrows.

**_*LUCINDA*_**

"He's on the rebound and has _raging _family issues," Elena grumbled to Jenna as she sipped a glass of water. Her face was set into a frown and she leant against the kitchen counter stiffly.

"Well, at least it's an ex-girlfriend," Jenna grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, "Wait 'til you date a guy with mummy issues,"

"Or cheating issues," I added, remembering my brief relationship with Brian, a compulsive cheater, "Or amphetamine issues,"

Jenna laughed as Lena sighed, "Well, I guess it could be worse," she muttered at the same time Jeremy walked in the house. A determined look passed over our Aunt's face as she stalked to go see him.

"Yeah, it's not like he's a serial killer, twin," I met her eyes, "Just talk to him about it,"

"But what if he doesn't tell me, twin?" she asked, "What if he's one of those guys who like to know everything about you but never tell you anything about _him_?"

"Look, Stefan's a good guy. I cans see the way he looks at you," I smiled, "He cares."

"We've only known each other a week…" she trailed off, thinking hard about something.

"Well, you have plenty of time to get to know each other," I assured her, "Trust me, twin, everything will work itself out,"

"Tonight!" I shouted, walking through the town square with Bonnie and Elena.

"Night of the comet! Would you like a program?" Elena called out to people. Someone grabbed one from Bonnie, and a little girl asked me politely for one, and I handed it to her with a smile.

"Would you like a program?" Bonnie asked a couple walking past us. They took one, said thank you, and carried on. "He didn't call, huh?"

"Or text," Lena told her, "But I realized we never even exchanged that stuff. We've never gotten to the texting part,"

"That's an important milestone in any relationship," Bonnie agreed. I just walked next to them silently.

"Isn't it?" my twin asked, before sobering almost immediately, "The timing is wrong, anyway,"

"Twin, I thought we talked about this," I frowned at her, "We agreed it would all work itself out,"

"I thought about it," she said to me, "I don't think… I don't think I can do this. Not seriously, anyway, not like with Matt,"

"When is the timing ever right?" Bon said to Elena with a disapproving arch of her brows.

"I'm not ready, okay?" Elena argued.

"Who is?" I persisted. Another few people walked past, "Would you like a program?"

"At last I put myself out there," my sister seemed to be telling herself more than us, "Right?"

"Is that what you're calling it?" Bonnie and I said at the same time. Lena through a program at us, making us laugh.

"What do you even," she paused to hand a man a program, "mean by that?"

"All we're hearing," I started.

"Is reasons why you can't," Bon finished.

I looked over a few people's heads, searching for Caroline, and when I eventually sought her out, she was staring at the road in confusion. Her hair was nicely curled, and she was wearing a pretty yellow dress. Why was she all gussied up?

"Care!" I shouted, and I stopped, letting Bonnie and Elena walk ahead of me. She looked over at me and smiled, making her way over. I glanced behind her, seeing none other than Damon Salvatore smirking at me. He gave me a small, mocking wave.

"Hey, Lu Lu," Caroline smiled, drawing my attention back to her. I handed her half of pile and we carried on walking to catch up with the other two. I glanced behind me, scanning for Damon, but he was gone.

"Hey," Caroline said. It was already dark by the time we caught up with the others. Elena and Bonnie stood with Matt, who kept throwing Lena longing glances.

"We got candles," I held them up, before handing one each to Bonnie and my sister. Matt was already clutching one.

"Hi," Twin said to me, before turning to Care, "Hey,"

"Hey," Matt nodded at both of us. He leant over and lit my sister's candle (no euphemisms intended) and she smiled up at him.

"Thank you,"

"You're welcome,"

I cleared my throat, as it looked like Matt was incredibly close to kissing her. He blinked and met my eyes, before frowning and taking a step away. My sister moved away to light someone else's candle.

"Thank you," it was Stefan, with a big smile on his face, "Hi,"

I took a big step in their direction, listening in. I really hoped she wouldn't break up with him.

"You know, that comet…" he paused, "it's been travelling across space for thousands of years." I could just picture the look he was giving her: his romance novel stare. "All alone."

"Yeah," Lena's voice was tight, "Bonnie says it's a harbinger of evil,"

"I think it's just a ball of…" there was softness in his voice that almost moved me to tears, "snow and ice, trapped on a path that it can't escape. And once every 145 years, it gets to come home. I'm sorry about yesterday. I wasn't myself,"

"You seem to spend a lot of time apologizing," she said back, sounding unimpressed. I winced.

"Well, I have a lot to apologize for," his voice was distant as he said that, like he was remembering, "Yesterday, that wasn't about you, okay?"

"You didn't tell me you had a brother," oh, so we were back to that.

"We're not close," he cringed, "It's, uh… it's complicated,"

"Always," she said bitterly, "He told me about your ex, Katherine,"

He sighed, "What did he say?"

"That she broke your heart," I tilted my head slightly in agreement; it had been along those lines.

I glanced over at them, seeing Stefan grab Elena's hand in both of his, "That was a _long _time ago,"

Oh, God, I knew what was coming, "When you lose someone, it stays with you, always reminding you of how easy it is to get hurt," Ooh, there it is.

"Elena…" he obviously wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.

"It's okay, Stefan," I knew what was happening, and I felt tears come to my eyes. NO! "I get it. You have no idea how much I get it," the tears spilled over, "Complicated brother? Check. Complicated ex? Check. Too complicated to even contemplate dating? Double check. It's okay. We met, and we talked and it was epic, but… then the sun came up, and reality set in…"

I looked over at her, saw her blow out her candle and walk away. I caught up with her, still sobbing. "Twin, why? Why did you do that?" I cried, "You were just getting happy again,"

"I had to," she gave a sad smile, "Shouldn't I be the one crying?"

"Well, I'm crying enough for the both of us, twin," I hiccupped. She pulled me into a hug and I sobbed messily into her shoulder.

"Hey, have you seen Vicki?" Jer asked me and Elena. WE were sat in the grill, with Matt and Care and Tyler. Bonnie was stood a bit away from us, quietly sipping her coke.

"Nope," I answered. Elena shook her head.

"Has anyone seen Vicki?" he directed to the rest of the table. Tyler puffed up his chest, and I could almost smell the testosterone. Why does he have to do this _every time_? Surely he was mature enough not to pick a fight with a 15-year-old?

"You're her stalker, you tell us," he snapped back. I shook my head. Guess not.

"I can't find her," Jeremy looked and sounded so worried, and I immediately sat up straighter. I knew I would, of course, be roped into helping.

"She probably found someone else to party with," is that jealousy I hear? "Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."

I gave Tyler a dirty look, "What's with the pill pusher?" I glared. My brother looked uncomfortable, and Ty's face flushed red.

"Ask him," was all he said.

Jeremy looked at me desperately, knowing that Elena was going to blow her fuse; we could both see it on her face. But I was on her side for this one. Was he dealing? "You want to do this right now?" he hissed, keeping his gaze carefully away from Lena and I.

"Are you dealing?" she gave him a look that said 'we'll-talk-about-this-later'.

Tyler ignored my sister, instead leaning forward with an annoying smirk. _Definitely not as cute as Damon's, _I thought. What the hell? Why was I thinking about him at a time like this?

"She's never going to go for you," TY said matter-of-factly. Now it was Jer's time to smile, and it looked incredibly mocking and smug. Aww, I taught him that look. I was so proud.

"She already did." He folded his arms, "Over and over and over again," I made a disgusted noise at the back of my throat and scrunched up my face. _Could've gone my whole life without mental image._

"Yeah, right," but Tyler didn't sound so sure anymore. My brother was never much of a liar, and when he was it was painfully obvious. He wasn't lying then.

"You slept with Vicki Donovan?" Caroline asked, letting out a small, startled laugh, "I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with _you_?"

"There's no way," Tyler denied.

Jeremy scowled at him, "And I didn't even have to force her into it.

Matt turned to his best friend, an angry frown on his face. "What the hell is he talking about, Ty?" he demanded, and Tyler shrunk into his seat.

"Nothing, man," he banged his fists on the table, "Just ignore him, he's a punk."

"You know what," Matt said with a groan, "How about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?" he glared at each of us in turn. When he reached me, I folded my arms.

"Don't look at me like that, Matt, I've done absolutely nothing wrong!" I complained. He ignored me.

"We'll check the back." Bonnie motioned to Caroline, who nodded along.

"I'll check the square," said Matt.

"I'll come with you," Jer started to follow him, but Elena and I grabbed him by the collar and spun him around.

"Oh, no, no, no," we said at the same time, "You are coming with us,"

"So that's your game now?" Elena asked as we pulled him with us to the entrance of the grill.

"Dealing?" I demanded.

"I'm not dealing," he tried to deny it, but like I said, he's a crap liar.

"Look," my twin said, sounding tired, "I'm sick of the tough love speech, Jer. It's clearly having no impact."

"You, Lucy and Jenna…" our brother yanked himself away from us, "Between the three of you… Enough already!"

"We can stop if you want," I said coldly, "Send you to a therapist where you'll be forced to deal with it or to rehab, where you'll sit in a group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart,"

"Or you can talk to us," Elena finished, though her tone was considerably more welcoming. Good cop, bad cop, I like it.

"I…" he stopped, started to walk way, "Vote for none of the above."

I left Elena to look outside. I had the really bad feeling, one that made next to no sense, and that was how I ended up alone, in the dark, walking quickly to a building I'd never even noticed before. I'm not entirely sure why I was even pursuing this, but it was like I had to see it. Although, I'm not quite sure what _it _is.

Once I reached the building, I hurried inside and up the stairs to the roof. I heard talking and kept quiet, listening.

I was not prepared for what I heard.

**_*STEFAN*_**

A scream was the first thing I heard when I jumped onto the roof Damon stood on.

"No! No!" it was the girl, Vicki, the one who missing. Damon was all but dangling her over the edge.

"Shh," my brother whispered mockingly, "I'm not going to drop you," He turned to me with a very dangerous smile, "Not bad. Have you been eating bunnies?"

"Let her go." I ordered, and Damon gave me a grin.

"Really?" he moved her even closer to the edge, "Okay," he made a move to drop her.

"No!" I yelled, "No, no!"

Damon rolled his eyes and threw the girl to me. She landed in a heap on the floor. "Ugh," he groaned, "Relax. Ever since you stopped eating people you've been so _uptight_."

"What's happening?" the girl whimpered. I sighed, and was about to respond. I have no idea what I was going to say – what would you tell the girl who's been attacked by your older brother not once, but twice, in the span of less than a week.

"I don't need her dead," Damon said to me, before raising his eyebrows with a crazed look in his eyes, "But you might," he turned to Vicki, "What attacked you the other night?"

"I don't know," she sounded horribly confused, "An animal,"

"Are you sure about that?" he put his face very close to hers, "Think. Think about it. Think really hard. What attacked you?"

Vicki gasped, and I grimaced. Uh oh. "A vampire."

"Who did this to you?" he growled.

"You did!" she yelled.

He smiled, "Wrong!"

"Don't" I pleaded.

He ignored me. "It was Stefan," he told her, moving away.

"Don't," I repeated.

Damon beckoned Vicki, "Come here."

He grabbed the girl's face between his hands. "Stefan Salvatore did this to you."

"Stefan Salvatore did this to me," Vicki said back, her voice blank. He was compelling her. Of course.

"He's a vampire." He continued. "A vicious, murderous monster."

"Please Damon," I shook my head, "Please don't do this."

He turned to me, smirking. "If you couldn't fix it before," He released her. "I don't know what you can do now."

Damon grabbed the bandage on her neck and tore it off, a look of malice covering his face as veins appeared under his eyes. The girl screamed

"Your choice of lifestyle has made you weak," he hissed and threw Vicki at me again, "A couple of vampire parlour tricks is nothing compared to the power that you could have," he smiled, "That you now need." He moved a step forward, "But you can change that. Human blood gives you that."

"No!" she shouted as I caught her before she could fall. I swallowed thickly.

"You have two choices," Damon said, listing them off his fingers, "You can feed and make her forget. Or you can let her run, screaming 'vampire' through the town square."

"That's what this is about," I gave a humourless laugh; "You want to expose me?"

"No!" he pulled at his hair, "I want you to remember who you are!"

I gave him my best brooding stare, "Why? So what, so I'll feed? So I'll kill? So I'll remember what it's like to be brothers again? You know what, let her go. Let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them chain me up, and let them drive a stake through my heart," I smiled, "Because at least then I'll be free of you."

Damon frowned; the first genuine expression I had seen on him in years.

"Huh," he said, "Wow."

He turned to Vicki, "Come here sweetheart," she crawled over to him, and he leant down to whisper in her ear. She struggled a bit in his arms, but eventually, she laid still.

Vicki blinked. "What happened?" she frowned, "Where am I? Oh, I ripped my stitches open," she poked her neck and I looked away, not wanting to feel any more tempted than I did already.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I took some pills, man," she snorted out a laugh, "I'm good," She stood up and went to the door, yanking it open. When she did, someone fell through; someone who looked very scared, and had obviously heard every word they said.

First, I thought it was Elena, but from the way her eyebrows dipped I knew it was Lucinda. Damon walked toward her, smirking, and grab her arm. He hoisted her up.

He let her rest on him, so their chests were pressed together, and he pushed the hair away from her face. She was visibly shaking from fear.

"Get away from me," her voice was strong, but hoarse, and she must have been very brave after everything she just heard.

"Oh, Lucinda," I didn't ask Damon how he could tell the difference between the two. "What am I going to do with you?"

She struggled, but he didn't let her go. "You won't remember this. You'll go home and sleep, and forget everything you just heard. When you couldn't find Vicki Donovan you went back to Bonnie and Caroline."

"When I couldn't find Vicki," she repeated, "I went back to Bonnie and Caroline."

"And," Damon smirked, "You can't stop thinking about me."

"And," she said, "I can't stop thinking about you."

"Now go."

Lucinda went.

"It's good to be home," he said, watching her walk away, "Think I might stay awhile. This town could use a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think."

"What are you up to, Damon?" I asked.

"That's for me to know and for you to dot, dot, dot. Give Elena and her sister my best."

**_*LUCINDA*_**

I was in the grill with Bonnie and Caroline, and I tried to join in with their conversation, but I just couldn't. I had this awful feeling and a blank spot in my memory.

"It's just so much drama," Caroline grumbled, "Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?"

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah,"

Stefan walked over, and I stiffened. I had the urge to run away from him; I was scared of him. "Excuse me. Hi." He said.

"Hi," Bonnie replied. Caroline said nothing, just stared at the table, and I watched him warily.

"Um," his eyes drifted to me, before snapping back to Bonnie, "Have you guys seen Elena?"

"I think she went home," Bon frowned, before grinning broadly, "I'm going to give you Elena's cell number and her email. She is big on texting, and you can tell her… I said so," she jotted the information down on a piece of paper.

"Thank you," he smiled at her and took the slip. Their hands brushed together and Bonnie froze, face blank.

"You okay?" he asked her, and she yanked her arm away from him, like he'd burned her.

"What happened to you?" she whispered, looking at him with wide eyes. "That's so rude," she shakes herself out of it, "I'm sorry. Excuse me." She got up quickly and left. I followed after, saying a goodbye to Caroline.

"Yeah," I heard Care say, "She kind of wigs out. It's like her thing."

**_*ELENA*_**

"Jer?" I called, walking into his bedroom. I didn't see him, instead I saw Jenna, rifling through my younger brother's things.

"No, it's me," Jenna sounded frustrated, "The hypocrite patrol,"

"What are you doing?" I questioned, and Jenna pulled a face.

"I've become my worst nightmare. The authority figure who has to violate a 15-year-old's privacy," she rushed to the opposite end of the room, digging her hand in a boot and pulling something out. She waved it around, too fast for me to make out what it was, "Jackpot. I see the hiding places haven't gotten any more creative."

"What brought this on?"

"Your ass-hat of a history teacher shamed me good yesterday," she sighed.

I nodded in understanding, "You got Tannered. Been there."

"'Discover the impossible, Miss Sommers'. Got it. Thanks. Like I didn't know I was screwing up." She sat down on Jeremy's bed. I joined her.

"You're not screwing up, Aunt Jenna."

"Yes, I am," she laughed humourlessly, "You know why? Because I'm not her. She made everything look so easy. You know, high school, marriage, having you, and Lucy and Jeremy. I can't do it. I'm going to say or do the wrong thing, but he's going to get worse, and it's going to be my fault. It's impossible."

"That's just the fear talking," I assured her, "You're a little scared, that's all. We all are." I took a deep breath. "I have to go do something? But are you going to be okay?"

Jenna laughed, and I took that as an okay to leave.

I stood in front of the door to the Salvatore boarding house, terrified. I rung the ell and waited patiently, not wanting a repeat of last time.

"Hi," Stefan said as he answered the door.

"Hey," I replied. I couldn't believe I was really going to do this, but whenever I was around him… I couldn't explain it. I just felt like we were meant to be together.

"Would you like to come in?" he asked. I shook my head.

"The comet's actually this way." I said, and he followed me out to rest against the wall opposite the door. He gave a wary smile.

"Sorry for barging in, especially after earlier."

"No, no. I'm glad you're here." He told me, "The way we left things… I didn't like it."

"See," I started, "The thing is, I got home tonight planning on doing what I always do: write my diary, like I have been since my mum gave me one when I was 10. It's where I get everything out, everything I'm feeling. It all goes in this little book that I hide on the second shelf behind this really hideous ceramic mermaid. But then I realized that I'd just be writing things that I should probably be telling you."

I met his eyes.

"What would you write?" he asked softly.

"I would right…" I thought for a moment, "'Dear Diary, today I convinced myself it was okay to give up. Don't take risks. Stick with the status quo. No drama; now is just not the time. But my reasons aren't reasons, they're excuses. All I'm doing is hiding from the truth, and the truth is that…'" I took a breath, "I'm scared, Stefan. I'm scared that if I let myself be happy for even one moment that… the world's just going to come crashing down, and I… don't know if I can survive that."

Stefan swallowed, "Do you want to know what I would right?" I nodded. "'I met a girl. We talked. It was epic. But then the sun came up, and reality set in. Well, this is reality." He grabbed my hand and looked deeply into my eyes, "Right here."

I felt myself leaning in, and my heart thumped so loudly in my chest I was sure he could feel it. I closed my eyes, and our lips brushed, and it was perfect.


	3. Chapter 3: Friday Night Bites

Friday Night Bites

**DAMON**

I knew Caroline was awake, but I didn't open my eyes. I shuffled slightly, so my head was toward the ceiling and both of my ears were free to listen. Perks of being a vampire: you don't need to see to know what's going on around you.  
>I felt the girl stand up, heard her heart beat increase. The floor creaked under her weight, and I knew she was moving to the door. I gave an inaudible sigh before speeding in front of her while her back was turned. She faced the door again, saw me instead and her eyes went wide. I smiled.<br>"Good morning," I said, though there was a part of me that wished the girl in front of me was brunette, with sparkling brown eyes, an innocent smile and a love for her family. I'd only seen the girl twice, and I already wanted to see her more, do more… at least until I got the love of my life back.  
>"Please…" she whimpered, and I felt a little disdain boil inside me; this girl was weak, "Don't,"<br>She stumbled back, away from me, and wrapped her hand around the lamp on her bedside table. I shook my head, and waggled my finger patronizingly, "Don't do that," I warned, "Ah, ah, ah."  
>She hit me around the face with the lamp, and it didn't hurt, but it made me angry. I growled under my breath.<br>"No! No!" she screamed as I got closer to her, "Get away from me! No!"  
>She reached toward her bed, grabbing her pillow and throwing it at me. I caught it, catching sight of the blood staining it. I smelt it, breathing it in deeply, and smiled as I felt my canines elongate, felt the veins under my eyes start to stir.<br>She screamed as I lunged for her.  
>LUCINDA<br>I slammed the car door shut, hiking my bag further up my shoulder and trying not to get the strap tangled up in my hair. Bonnie had a weird look on her face, and I had a feeling it was to do with the look she got the Friday before; the look she got when she touched Stefan. I tried not to let that worry me.  
>"I'm not saying don't date the guy," her voice was wary, "I'm just saying take it slow." Her hair was curly today, and mine was straight, like Elena's always was, but I had mine up in a ponytail. She wore a pretty shirt with light coloured trousers, and Elena had on her trademark converse with her flared jeans and a nice, dark blue jumper.<br>"You were the one who said go for it," my sister frowned, walking through the lot with us. I pulled my face into a straight line.  
>"Now I'm saying," Bonnie grumbled, "take it slow,"<br>I nodded along with her, because I was sporting my own reasons. It was Stefan particularly, or even his creepy brother who had been on my mind almost non-stop lately. It was their relationship, and the fact that they hated each other, like really hated. Of course, it was also pretty obvious that they cared about each other, but this was… worrying.  
>"Why the about-face?" Elena demanded, and she looked upset. I knew how this must've looked to her: two of the most important people in her life saying that they obviously didn't approve of her relationship. I felt kind of sorry for her.<br>"It's not an about-face," Bon argued, "You're single for the first time in your entire high school career. It's the perfect time to play the field."  
>Well done, Bonnie, way to think of a completely unbelievable excuse. Elena looked like she trusted that statement about as much as I would. Elena and I are frighteningly alike; we're both damaged, we look the same, we would both do anything to protect the people we care about, we're both incredibly paranoid and, last but not least, we were both very stubborn.<br>"Oh, because I'm so that girl," she looked unimpressed, "Seriously, what are you saying?"  
>"It's stupid," Bonnie tried to avoid the question, but my twin was having none of that.<br>"Bonnie…" she urged. To be honest, I was quite curious too.  
>"What?"<br>Elena whinged "Spit it out,"  
>"I accidently touched Stefan," Bon blurted, "And I got a really bad feeling,"<br>"Is that it?" Elena laughed, relaxed now, "Bonnie," she shook her head.  
>"It was bad bad," our friend said, emphasis on the 'bad'.<br>"Is this the whole," Lena gesture with her hands, "witch mojo thing again?"  
>"You know what? I'm just concerned." Bonnie gave up on trying to explain; Elena obviously wasn't getting it, "This is me expressing my concern about my best friend's new boyfriend,"<br>"And I love you for it, I do," Elena grinned, "But it's been a hard year, and I'm starting to feel like things are getting back to normal again. And you know what? Stefan is a big part of that." I cleared my throat, "of course you are, too, twin."  
>"You're damn right, I am," I mumbled, and they both laughed, serious conversation momentarily forgotten.<br>We continued walking, passing an angry looking Vicki, and stopped when Stefan walked up to us.  
>"Good morning, Elena," he gave her a winning smile, "Good morning, Lucinda, Bonnie."<br>"Hey, um," Bonnie looked uncomfortable, and, really, I was too, "I've got to find Caroline. She's not answering her phone. So I'll… see you guys later." She nodded a goodbye and started to walk away.  
>"I'll see you later!" I shouted to her back.<br>"She doesn't like me very much," Stefan said with a frown.  
>Elena gave him a reassuring smile, while I just admired his jacket, "She doesn't know you. She's my best friend," I cleared my throat, "One of my best friends," she corrected herself; "She's just looking out for me. But when she does, she'll love you,"<br>"I'm going to run and say hi to Matt," I told them, seeing my friend throwing a football with Tyler, "I'll be back in a sec."  
>"Look, there's Elena and her new boyfriend," Tyler said, not noticing me, "Now, what are they doing? Oh they're walking, walking, walking… yep. Right off into the sunset,"<br>I glared at him, "Would you stop?"  
>"Oh, it's the other Gilbert twin," he gave me a fake smile, "Sorry; I didn't notice you there in Elena's shadow,"<br>I opened my mouth to snap at him, but Matt beat me to it, "Would you give it a rest, Ty, what's Lucy ever done to you?"  
>"She'-"<br>"He's just mad that I rejected him freshman year," I dismissed, "How are you?" I asked Matt, "I know that now they're official…"  
>"Yeah, they're in a relationship now," Tyler gave Matt a frown, "While you're just standing there looking like one of those little yard trolls,"<br>"Gnomes," Matt groaned, "They're gnomes, Ty,"  
>I smiled at my sister and walked a few steps closer, hearing her and Stefan talking.<br>"Here's what we're going to do," she said determinedly, "Are you free tonight?"  
>"Yes," he answered immediately.<br>"Perfect. Dinner, my house, 8pm." She said confidently, "You, me, twin and Bonnie. You guys will spend some quality time and she'll get to see what a great guy you are. Mission accomplished."  
>"Hey who said I'm free tonight?" I demanded. My sister rolled her eyes.<br>"Come on, you're only plans are with me and Bonnie," she reminded me.  
>"Oh, yeah," I grinned, "For a second there I forgot that I'm single and have no life,"<br>They laughed, and suddenly all I saw was a football sailing through the air and right to the back of Stefan's head. But here's the weird thing: he caught it. This kid had crazy reflexes, and, I don't know why, but it stirred some horrible instinct in me to run away from him. I guess Elena didn't have the same thing, though, because she just laughed and smiled in amazement as he threw the ball back. Tyler managed a two handed catch, but he still stumbled back a few steps.

"That throw was insane," yep, Elena was still prattling on about the incident, even though it was, like, an hour ago, "I didn't know you played football,"  
>"I used to," he looked reminiscent, "It was a long time ago,"<br>"Didn't seem very long ago," I mumbled, but Stefan seemed to hear me because he smiled in my direction.  
>"So why don't you try out for the team?" she was persistent.<br>Stefan laughed, shaking his head, "Yeah, I don't think so."  
>"So you don't like football?" she asked, confused.<br>"No," he ran a hand through his hair, "I love football. I think it's a great sport."  
>"That makes one of us," I remarked, knowing that Elena harboured as much love for the game as I did.<br>"But in this case," he carried on like I hadn't said anything, "I don't think football like me. You saw Tyler over there, and we all know how Matt feels,"  
>"They don't know you." Elena grabbed his hand, "To them, you're mysterious loner guy. Wouldn't hurt to be part of a team, make some friends."<br>Stefan scoffed, "Says the girl who spends her alone time writing in a cemetery,"  
>"Hey!" Lena laughed, "Come on! There's much more to me than just gloomy, graveyard girl. There's a whole other Elena you are yet to meet."<br>"She was into everything," I added, "Very busy."  
>"Well," he looked between us, "I look forward to meeting her. And when exactly will that be?"<br>"Soon, she's working on it."

"World war two ended in…" Tanner trailed off, waiting for a hand, "Anyone got anything? Miss Juan?" I raised my hand, and he gave me a surprised look that was more than a little offended.  
>"1945, sir," I answered. He nodded, giving me a grudging smile.<br>"Pearl Harbour?" he asked next.  
>"I'm a loner," I heard Stefan whisper, and then Mr Tanner's attention turned to him.<br>"Miss Gilbert?" I knew he wasn't talking to me.  
>Elena turned to him, surprised, "Hmm?"<br>"Pearl Harbour?"  
>"Um…"<br>"December 7th, 1941," Stefan said, and the class turned to him in shock. Whoa, how'd he know? I knew he was a loner, but I didn't know he was nerd!  
>"Thank you, Miss Gilbert," Tanner said sarcastically.<br>"Anytime," Stefan replied, somewhat smugly.  
>"Very well." The teacher gave him a challenging look, "The fall of the Berlin Wall?"<br>"1989. I'm good with dates, sir," Stefan informed him.  
>"Are you?" Tanner smiled, "How good? Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act?"<br>"1964."  
>"John F. Kennedy assassination?"<br>"1963."  
>"Martin Luther King?"<br>"1968."  
>"Lincoln?"<br>"1865."  
>"Roe vs. Wade?"<br>"1973."  
>"Brown vs. Board?"<br>"1954."  
>"The battle of Gettysburg?"<br>"1863."  
>"Korean war?"<br>"1950 to 1953."  
>"Ha!" Tanner yelled, and I jumped from the sudden noise, "It ended in '52!"<br>"Uh, actually, sir," Stefan sounded adorably confused, "it was '53."  
>"Look it up, somebody." Tanner ordered, "Quickly."<br>Someone else in the class, Martin Adams, spoke up, eyes down on his phone, "It was 19…53!"  
>The whole class laughed, because Tanner had just been Tanner-ed.<p>

After school that day I was walking with Elena to cheer practise. Neither of us had been since the death of our parents, but I'd been getting Bonnie to teach me the routines for a while. Lena had been planning on joining us, but she had bailed for Stefan. To be honest, I didn't particularly want to cheer anymore, but I thought, hey, might as well give it a try. I used to love it.  
>"Oh my God, you're both actually here!" Bonnie cheered, standing up. Her hair was in two cute plaits, and she wore a blue tank top and black short shorts. Elena was wearing near the same outfit, but her tank top was white, and her hair was pulled into a ponytail.<br>"Yep," Elena said, "We can't be sad forever."  
>I nodded, "The only way to get things back to the way they were are is to do things that were." I said, "Oh, and you're coming to dinner tonight. If I'm being forced, so are you,"<br>"I am?" Bonnie laughed. Elena gave her a very bright smile.  
>"Mmm hmm," she grinned, "You, me, twin and Stefan. You have to give him a chance."<br>"Tonight's no good," our friend said immediately, obviously lying, "Have you seen Caroline? I texted her like a hundred times,"  
>"So did I." I agreed with a worried frown, "I hope our little Care Bear is okay."<br>"Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennett!" Elena groaned, "You're going to be there."  
>Bonnie folded her arms, dropping to the floor with my sister to stretch. "Fine, I'll go."<br>"Good," Elena said with a triumphant smile.  
>I warmed up on my feet for a bit, building up a sweat and not wanting to sit down. I had on a camisole over a black sports bra, and a pair of shorts, my hair was still up from earlier. I shed my top when I got too hot and took a sip of my water.<br>"Seriously," Bonnie said after a while, "Where is Caroline?"  
>"I don't know," I said anxiously, "It's not like her."<br>Elena was looking off in the other direction, watching Stefan run onto the football field in his uniform. I nudged her suggestively.  
>"I'll try her again," Bonnie mumbled, pulling her phone out of her pocket. A car pulled up then, a beautiful 1969 light blue Chevy Camaro convertible. I was glad I was stood up, because otherwise it would've way more difficult to run up to the car and start stroking it. Which is exactly what I did. So, I had a thing for Chevy's, so sue me.<br>I looked up when I heard the car door open beside me, and saw Caroline. She smiled at me and rolled her eyes. "You like the car?" she asked, but her voice was a little off. I ignored it and grinned widely.  
>"Obviously." I said, "This beauty is only 2 year younger than mine."<br>It was after I said that I realised Care had come from the passenger seat, and I looked up to see who the driver was.  
>It was Damon Salvatore.<br>"Oh my God, that must be the mystery guy!" Bonnie exclaimed behind me, "From the grill!"  
>"That's not a mystery guy," Elena said in reply, while my eyes were dragged back to the car, "That's Damon Salvatore."<br>"Salvatore, as in Stefan?"  
>"Hello, Lucinda," Damon said, smirking at me. I looked up at him, "It's good to see you again." I said nothing, "Are you really not going to say anything?" he sounded amused.<br>"I don't talk to strangers," I said stubbornly.  
>"We're hardly strangers."<br>"I've spoken to you once," I back up a step, and his eyes swept over me. If it was anyone else, I would've been unsettled, but with him… it wasn't the same. I hadn't stopped thinking about him since Elena and Stefan made their relationship official. So I just stood there, shuffling my feet in an uncomfortable way.  
>His eyes flashed at my words, but he nodded, putting the car into drive and starting to back up. I waved, "I like your car!" I shouted to him, and I swear I heard him laugh.<br>I turned back to the squad, who were all lined up, and met Care's eyes. She looked almost… scared.  
>"Sorry I'm late, girls," Caroline smiled mischievously, "I, uh, was busy." She moved her legs further apart, "Alright, let's start with the double pike herkey hurdler, what do you say? And 5, 6, 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8." She paused, "Elena, sweetie, why don't you just observe today?" my sister moved to the back, struggling through, "Okay? Keep going! Okay, do it again, from the top. And 5, 6, 7, 8, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8."<br>I glanced back to Elena, but she was gone.

*DAMON*  
>When Stefan walked into his bedroom and found me reading his diary, he looked angry. I seemed to get that reaction from the boy a lot.<br>"How ere try outs?" I asked mockingly, "Did you make the team?"  
>He just glared at me, proceeding to grab a fresh shirt from a draw and put it on. "Get out, Damon," he said, but he sounded tired, too tired to do anything about it. I smiled.<br>"Very Emerson, how you reveal your soul," I looked at him over the top of the book, "So many adjectives."  
>He grabbed it from my hands, putting it safely in a cupboard with an embarrassed look on his face. My brother fixed me with a brooding stare. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.<br>"I've come to apologize," I put on a serious face, dropped my voice down an octave, "I've been doing some thinking, some soul searching, and… I want us to start over. We need to put the past behind us. You're my little brother, and if you want to live a normal, happy human life, than I want that for you. Maybe I can do it, too. Maybe I can learn to be a non-living living person. Maybe there's hope for both of us."  
>Our eyes stayed connected for a long moment, and he looked so close to believing me when I couldn't hold it in anymore. I laughed. He honestly believed that?<br>"You know," he said, annoyed, "It doesn't have to be this way, Damon."  
>"Of course it doesn't," I rolled my eyes, before smirking, "I saw Lucinda and Elena today, BTW." I paused, "That means 'by the way'. They were at cheerleading practise and… Lucinda looked so perky in her little short shorts," I gave an exaggerated shiver, and Stefan looked like he had steam coming out of his ears, "Simmer down, I didn't even go near her. I have my own cheerleader now,"<br>That I did: Caroline. She was annoying and talked too much, but she would do for now. Her blood tasted okay, nothing close to what I imagined Lucinda's tasted like, but I had to keep away from her. I wouldn't want any stray feelings for the Gilbert twin to come between me and Katherine when I save her. That's the problem with Caroline: I've always had a thing for brunettes, and she was very blonde.  
>"That reminds me," I continued, "I've got to run. I have a date," I cupped my hands and blew into them, giving Stefan and teasing grin, "Sweaty palms. Wish me luck."<p>

*LUCINDA*  
>Elena, Bonnie and I were preparing dinner at home. Bon was technically a guest, but she'd been around us long enough to know what we're like when we're cooking, so she offered to help. Stefan didn't know, though, so he was arriving later. Elena scooped the pasta into a bowl, and it looked… really gross. I couldn't believe I was going to have to eat that.<br>"You explain it," Bonnie was saying, "Last night, I'm watching Nine-o, a commercial break comes on and I'm, like, I bet it's that phone commercial. And sure enough, it's that guy and the girl with the bench, and he flies to Paris and he flies back. They take a picture…"  
>"Oh, come on," my sister scoffed, "That commercial's on a constant loop."<br>I wasn't so sure; maybe Bon really was psychic. Or a witch or whatever.  
>"Fine," she sighed, "Well, how about this? Today, I'm obsessed with numbers. 3 numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14 and 22. How weird is that,"<br>I smiled teasingly, "Maybe we should play the lottery,"  
>Bonnie threw a spoon at me whilst Elena laughed.<br>"Have you talked to your Grams about it?" my sister asked curiously. Maybe she wasn't so again this witch theory after all.  
>"She's just going to say it's because I'm a witch," she whinged, "I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?" she looked between us.<br>"I don't want to be a witch," Elena and I answered at the same time, in the same tone. We put the last of the food in the bowl.  
>Bonnie groaned, "And putting it in a nice bowl isn't fooling anybody,"<br>"Okay," I said, turning to the drawers underneath the counter, "Serving spoons, where are the serving spoons?"  
>"Middle drawer on your left," our friend answered without even thinking. I plucked it out and gave her a wary look.<br>"Okay," Elena broke in, "So you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times."  
>"Yeah," Bon didn't sound convinced, "That's it."<br>The doorbell rang and Elena perked up instantly, straightening out her clothes and brushing her fingers through her hair. "Okay, he's here. Don't be nervous." She told us, "Be your normal, loving selves."  
>She left to answer the door. I exchanged a look with Bonnie and she stared down at the drawers once more. "Birthday candles." She said, before pulling them out of a drawer. I looked at her with wide eyes.<p>

We were eating quietly, and it was really awkward. I sat next to Bonnie, with Elena opposite me, and Stefan was at the head of the table. The only sound I could hear was the scraping of metal against china. I cringed.  
>"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena said, trying to start a conversation.<br>Stefan gave her a smile, "Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right."  
>"Bonnie," she turned to our friend, "You should've seen Stefan today. Tyler threw a ball right at him and-"<br>Bonnie cut her off, "Yeah, I heard."  
>It fell back into the silence.<br>"Why don't you tell Stefan about your family, Bon?" I suggested. She glared at me.  
>"Um," she floundered, "Divorced. No mum. Live with my dad."<br>"No, about the witches," I muttered lowly.  
>Elena added, "Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches. It's really cool."<br>"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Bon said through a cough. I nudged her.  
>"Well," Stefan smiled at my friend, "it's certainly interesting. I'm not too versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800's."<br>"My family came by way of Salem," Bonnie told him, looking uncomfortable. His face slacked for a second, before he gave her his charming smile.  
>"Really? Salem witches?"<br>"Yeah."  
>"I would say that's pretty cool," he said matter-of-factly. Bonnie raised her eyebrows.<br>"Really?" she said doubtfully, "Why?"  
>"Salem witches," Stefan said, "are heroic examples of individualism and nonconformity."<br>"Yeah," Bonnie smiled at him, "They are."  
>Mission Accomplished.<br>The doorbell rang again and I groaned. "I wonder who that could be," I sighed, standing up, "I'll get it."  
>I went to the hall and up to the front door, opening it to see a very bubbly Caroline and a smirking Damon.<br>"Surprise!" Care squealed "Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought dessert!"  
>"Oh…" I trailed off as she hurried into the house. Damon just stayed outside, just beyond the threshold. Our eyes locked for a moment and I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away. They were just so blue… and familiar…<br>"Hope you don't mind," his voice was deep and it sent tingles down my spine. I opened my mouth to tell him to come in, a trance-like state covering me, but I was snapped out of it by a hand touching my arm. It was Stefan.  
>"What are you doing here?" he demanded. Damon smiled at him, but his eyes were cold as they kept glancing at the hand Stefan had on me.<br>"Waiting for Lucinda to invite me in," he looked at me as he answered. I laughed, nodding even though the tension was enough to suffocate me.  
>"Oh, yea, you can-"<br>Stefan cut me off, "No, no, no. He can't, uh… he can't stay." His eyes stared at his brother, "Can you, Damon?"  
>"Get in here," Caroline said impatiently.<br>"We're just… finishing up," Stefan tried, almost desperately.  
>"It's fine," I gave him a weird look, before smiling at Damon, "Just come on in."<br>The smirk on his face increased tenfold and he took an exaggerated step through the door, staring at his brother the whole way.  
>Damon looked around as we walked down the hall, and said, quietly, to me, "You have a lovely home, Lucinda,"<br>"Thank you," I said and I blushed. Why, why did I blush? He's my best friend's boyfriend who had major family issues and a need to make me feel uncomfortable… so why was I so enraptured by him?

*DAMON*  
>In the living room soon after my interaction with Lucinda, I was sat next to Caroline. I was regretting my choice in seating, because I honestly wanted to be right next to the Gilbert girl on the chair she was perched on. The way her hair was curled, different from when I saw her at cheer practise and the softness in her doe brown eyes. Like an innocent Katherine.<br>"I cannot believe that Mr Tanner let you on the team," Caroline was prattling on, "Tyler must be seething. But good for you. Go for it."  
>I sent my little brother a condescending smile, "That's what I always tell him. You have to engage; you can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you." I dropped my voice, and let my eyes flicker to Lucinda, "You have to go and get it."<br>Caroline nodded, oblivious to the stiffness in Stefan's shoulders and the tension in the air between us, "Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today, and I'm surprised Lu Lu could do the routines right. It's only because you guys missed the summer camp," she bit her lip, "God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."  
>Bonnie frowned, "I'll work with her, and she'll get it."<br>Lucinda made a noise of agreement, but her eyes were locked on mine, like she was trying to work out where she knew me from. I frowned, because she couldn't possibly remember me; she was unconscious when I fished her out of the water.  
>"I guess we could put her in the back," Caroline thought out loud, and Lucinda's gaze snapped to her, glaring. I immediately wanted to snap Caroline's neck for ruining the moment.<br>"You know," I spoke, "You don't seem like the cheerleader type, either of you."  
>"Oh," Care waved her hand nonchalantly, "It's just 'cause their parents died. Yeah, I mean, they're totally going through a blah phase. They used to be way more fun."<br>"Caroline," Bonnie, Elena and Lucinda snapped at the same time, in the same tone.  
>"And I say that with complete sensitivity," the blonde said, but she didn't look convincing.<br>"I'm sorry," I said, looking at the girl who was so much like Katherine, but so not, "I know what it's like to lose both of your parents. In fact," I turned to my brother, "Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die."  
>I may not have wanted Elena, but that didn't mean I didn't want to ruin her and Stefan's relationship.<br>"We don't need to get into that now, Damon," Stefan snapped.  
>"Oh, you know what, you're right, Stef, I'm sorry." I put a hand on my chest, "The last thing I wanted to do was bring her up. Mmm."<br>And then just like that, Lucinda's face turned hard.

*LUCINDA*  
>I put the last plate in the sink, leaving it for Jenna to do later, because I'm such a nice niece. I turned around and came face to, well, chest with Damon. He smiled down at me and held out a glass.<br>"One more," he said. I reached out to take it, but when I grasped it, it slipped through my fingers. I cringed, waiting for it to smash, but Damon caught it.  
>"Nice save," I complimented as he put the cup with the rest of dirty things. I laughed slightly, still shocked at how fast his reflexes were. He grinned.<br>"I like you," he said, "You know how to laugh. And your sister makes Stefan smile, which is something I haven't seen in a very long time."  
>I nodded, thinking, before I blurted, "Earlier, did you mean Katherine?"<br>"Mmm hmm," he said, and there was a sad look in his eyes.  
>"How, um," I paused, "How did she die?"<br>"In a fire," his voice was pained, "Tragic fire."  
>"Recently?"<br>"It," he cleared his throat, "seems like it was yesterday."  
>"What was she like?" I asked, curious on Elena's behalf. I knew she would never ask.<br>"She was beautiful," he said simply, "A lot like you in that department. She was also very complicated and selfish and at times not very nice, but very sexy and seductive."  
>I raised an eyebrow, leaning closer to him, "So, which one of you dated her first?"<br>He smirked, impressed, "Nicely deduced." He said, "Ask Stefan. I'm sure his answer differs from mine."  
>I suddenly felt very sorry for him. He loved this girl, who obviously messed around with Stefan, too, and not only did not get closure, but she died.<br>"I'd quit cheering if I were you," Damon said, changing the subject.  
>"Why do you say that?" I asked.<br>"Oh," he shrugged, "At practise you looked miserable."  
>"You saw that?" I grimaced.<br>He gave me a gentle smile, "Am I wrong?"  
>"I used to love it," I told him, "It was fun. But things are different this year. Everything that used to matter doesn't anymore."<br>"So don't let it. Quit, move on. Problem solved." Damon shrugged again, "Ta da."  
>I argued, "But some things could matter again."<br>"Maybe." He allowed, "But that seems a little unrealistic to me."  
>I took a step away from him, looking at him softly. "I'm sorry."<br>Damon seemed confused.  
>"About Katherine," I elaborated, "You lost her, too."<br>We stared at each other for a few long minutes, and he seemed to be trying to figure me out. I just gave him an awkward little hug that I regretted almost as soon as I'd done it.  
>"You need help?" Bonnie and Elena asked from the doorway.<br>"Yeah, I was actually about to show Damon something anyway." I told them, before taking his wrist and towing him out of the room and to the garage.  
>"This is the reason I loved your car so mush this afternoon." I informed him, as he stared at my baby.<br>He smirked, "Are you sure that's what you brought me out here for?"  
>"Pretty sure," I said, my mouth forming a straight line. And I thought he was going to be my new friend.<p>

*STEFAN*  
>"Matt tries," Caroline was saying, "But he's having a really hard time. You have to understand that they were each other's first. You know, like, from the sandbox."<br>I nodded, feeling an ache in my chest and a pain in my head from all the talking. "That's a really nice scarf," I remarked.  
>"Mm," the girl smiled, "Thank you, it's new."<br>"Can I see it?" I asked, "I mean, would you mind taking it off?"  
>"Oh, I can't," she said simply. I frowned.<br>"Why not? You okay?"  
>"Um," she looked confused, "All I know is that I can't take it off,"<br>Damon decided it was appropriate to walk in then, with a large, smug smirk on his face. "What are you two kids talking about?"  
>"I was just commenting on her scarf," my voice had a hard edge to it.<br>"Hmm." His eyes flashed, "Hey, you know, Elena and Bonnie are finishing up the dishes. Why don't you go see if you can help?" he directed to Caroline.  
>She scoffed. "Do I look like I do dishes?" she asked, rolling her eyes.<br>Damon's tone turned sickly sweet, something that meant he was losing his temper, "For me?"  
>"Hmm," she pretended to think about it, "I don't think you so."<br>My brother sighed before meeting the teenager's eyes and compelling her, "Go see if Elena needs help in the kitchen."  
>"You know what?" Caroline said perkily, "I'm going to go see if Elena needs some help in the kitchen."<br>"Great,"  
>She left, and I let myself scowl at the monster in front of me. "They are people, Damon," I growled, "She's not a puppet. She doesn't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to."<br>I knew what his game was. He was biting her and drinking from her, while compelling her not to be scared of him, and not to let anybody know. It was his game; snatch, eat, erase. Or, more often, snatch, eat, erase, murder, but that was a 'minor detail' for him.  
>"Sure she does," Damon laughed, "They all do. They're whatever I want them to be, they're mine for the taking."<br>"Alright," I stood, "You've had your fun. You used Caroline, you got to me and Elena and Lucinda, good for you. Now it's time for you to go."  
>He gave a taunting smile. "That's not a problem, because… I've been invited in, and I'll come back tomorrow night and the following night and I'll do whatever with the little Gilbert cheerleader whatever I want to do." He said, and his eyes filled with malice at the mention of Elena's sister, "Because that is what's normal to me."<p>

*LUCINDA*  
>"Tonight wasn't so bad," I was lounging on my bed with Matt, who had come around after the dinner, talking about the night's events. "I had fun."<br>"Well, it sounds like you did," he grinned, before standing. "Well, I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow."  
>I nodded, looking down for a moment, and when I looked up, he was gone. I frowned.<br>"Phew," I heard a very familiar voice say from the doorway to the joint bathroom I had with Jeremy, "I thought he'd never leave."  
>Damon walked forward with slow, confident step and I stood up, very conscious of the fact I only wore a pair of small pyjamas. He stopped when he was right in front of me, and our chests were pressing together. I blushed.<br>"You look so…" he trailed off, brushing my hair away from my face, "Delicious."  
>And then he was kissing me. It was soft and sweet and I wanted to kiss him more, but there was something screaming at me in the back of my head.<br>Every instinct in me was telling me this wasn't right, so I wrenched myself away from Damon and pushed him as hard as I could. He didn't move an inch, and made to lean down again. I opened my mouth and screamed.  
>I woke up gasping and drenched in sweat, with wide eyes and a sick feeling in my stomach. Why would I dream about that?<br>I stumbled off of the bed, grabbing a mug as I went. I passed the window in the way to the door, but I failed to notice the crow sat on the ledge. It cawed and flew away; it was almost like it was laughing.

*ELENA*  
>I stared at my uniform, frowning. In all honesty, I really didn't want to be a cheerleader anymore. I wanted to sit and watch the game from the bleachers, yelling with the rest and just… be there. Not be a part of it.<br>I heard a sigh from the doorway and looked up to see Lucy there, with a sad sort of smile curling at her lips. Her hair was straight and she wore a dark blue, long sleeved t-shirt with the three buttons on the top undone, a pair of flared jeans, and converse. She wasn't wearing her uniform either.  
>"You, too?" she asked. I nodded, standing up. If my sister wasn't afraid to quit, I wasn't going to be either.<br>"Yeah," I shook my head, and she took a step toward me.  
>Lucy said wisely, "Some things won't matter again."<p>

I walked happily to Stefan. People were bustling around the school parking lot, sporting team colours, and grinning. It was still light outside, and kick off was after the pep rally. I waved to Bonnie, who had caught up with my sister, before focusing my attention on my boyfriend.  
>"Ooh," I grinned, "You look hot it your jersey."<br>Stefan laughed, bringing me in to press his lips to mine quickly and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "What happened?" he asked, "No more cheerleader?"  
>He didn't sound disappointed, which was good, because I really couldn't handle it if he turned out to be one of those guys who wanted a cheerleader for a girlfriend, not just anyone.<br>"I quit," I wrinkled my nose, "I'm a quitter."  
>He smiled and pecked my forehead. "No, hey, you're not a quitter," he told me sternly, and I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach at the tender look in his eyes, "You suffered a great loss, and you're not the same person. You should be looking ahead and starting over, okay?" his eyebrows knitted together, "I hope you don't think this is too soon, or too weird, but I, uh, wanted you to have this."<br>Stefan held out a small brown box, and opened it, revealing a circular silver locket with intricate detail and small red crystals. It was beautiful, and locked really old, so old I was worried I'd break it.  
>"Oh, my God," I breathed, "It's beautiful."<br>"It's, uh," he smiled, "something that I've had forever, and, uh, I've never wanted to give it to anyone until now." He paused, "I'd very much like it if you wear it for… good luck."  
>His expression was a bit off, but I accepted, and took it out of the box to hold it. I smelled something sweet. "Is that rose?"<br>"No, um, it's an herb. It's nice, huh?" he gave me a wink, and I giggled. Whoa, since when did I giggle?  
>"I love it," I squealed, jumping up to hug him before pushing my hair over my shoulder and letting him put it on me. I could've swooned.<br>"And," Stefan said when I was facing him again, "I wanted to thank you for pushing me to try out for the team. It feels really good to be playing again."  
>"We're a pair," I said sweetly, "I quite, you start."<br>He leant down to kiss me again and said a goodbye, running to catch up to the rest of the team.  
>"You guys," my twin said from next to me, "Are so cute!"<br>We laughed together, but that stopped immediately when Caroline appeared, looking very angry.  
>"And you're not in uniform because?"<p>

*LUCINDA*  
>The sun had set a while ago, and now everyone was gathered just off of the football field, where Mr Tanner stood on a podium, ready to announce the team. Stefan and the other boys were huddled together, and the cheerleaders were with them. Tyler looked unhappy, and kept throwing Stefan glares.<br>"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Tanner shouted, "Let's be honest here. In the past, we used to let other teams come into our town and roll right over us!" The crowd around me booed angrily, "But that is about to change!" They cheered, "We've got some great new talent tonight starting on offense, and I'm going to tell you right now, it has been a long time since I've seen a kid like this," he pointed to Stefan, "With hands like these. Let's give it up for Stefan Salvatore!"  
>"This blows," I saw Tyler mutter, "He can't start the guy, he just got here."<br>"I only have one thing to say!" Tanner yelled, "Your Timberwolves are hungry!"  
>I saw Ty walk away from the crowd and dread seeped into me. I gulped and followed him. He walked to Vicki, baring his teeth a little in a grimace.<br>"Hey, babe, what's wrong?" Vicki asked, her voice worried, and I felt sorry for her. Tyler obviously didn't care about her.  
>"Nothing," he grunted. His eyes found my brother, who was loitering with the delinquents in a big black truck. "Is that Jeremy?"<br>I hurried toward them.  
>"Wait, no, Ty!" Vick shouted, but he was already walking to my little brother, who looked super pissed.<br>"Oh, why do you care?" the football player snapped at his girlfriend, then turned his attention to Jeremy. "Don't look so down, you can have her when I'm done."  
>I sniffed in indignation on Vicki's behalf. That was seriously low. Apparently, Jer thought so too, because he lunged at Tyler, right hooking him in the jaw. I taught him that!<br>The boys starting fighting, rolling around the floor like boys do. How immature; they were fighting for absolutely no reason.  
>"Tyler, stop it!" Vicki was screaming, "Tyler! Tyler, stop! Stop, you're hurting him! Tyler! Tyler, stop it!"<br>The boy was about to land a punch on my brothers face when someone reached out to crab his wrist. It was Stefan, who looked like an avenging angel with his good looks and stormy expression. I couldn't help but remember earlier, when he casually asked to see the locket I got from my parents last Christmas; it had been heavy ever since, which was weird.  
>Elena ran forward, just in time to see Jeremy grab a broken bottle and go for Tyler. Except, Tyler was still being firmly grasped by my sister's boyfriend, and the glass went into his outreaching hand instead. I met eyes with Elena, and we both nodded. He ran to Stefan, who was cradling his bloody hand, and I went Jer, whose nose was broken and lip was split.<br>"What the hell, Jeremy?" I snapped, "Put your head up, you're bleeding."  
>He growled, "I'm fine!"<br>"Yeah," I scoffed, the stench of alcohol filling my nose, "You smell fine."  
>"Just stop, okay?" he yanked away from me and left the scene. I glared after him. Matt pulled Tyler back, and I was left with my sister and Stefan. She was staring in confusion at him.<br>"But… I saw it, it was…" she stumbled over her words.  
>I peered closer, "How's the hand?"<br>"He missed," he told us, "I'm fin, not my blood, see?"  
>"No, no, no," she said back, stubbornly, "I saw it. The glass cut your hand, it was…"<br>"It's okay, I'm okay." He rushed out. "It's almost kick-off time, alright? So, um, I'll see you after the game."  
>He left quickly.<br>"I need to talk to Bonnie," Lena said to me, "Could you grab my bag from the car?"  
>I nodded, and took the keys.<br>I leant over the driver's seat to reach the purse in the foot-hole of the passenger's seat. I, turned, feeling a presence behind me, and jumped when I saw Damon. He smirked as a grabbed my chest.  
>"You scared me," I cleared my throat, "What are you doing here?"<br>"I'm hiding from Caroline." He whispered, leaning closer. I raised an eyebrow.  
>"And why is that?"<br>"I needed a break." Damon informed me, "She talks more than I can listen."  
>I nodded thoughtfully, "That could be a sign."<br>"Well," he shrugged, "She's awfully young."  
>"Not much younger than you are." My words made him laugh.<br>"I don't see it going anywhere in the future," he stroked his chin, "I think she'd drive me crazy."  
>"Caroline does have some really annoying traits," I glared at him, "But we've been friends since the first grade and that means something to me."<br>"Duly noted," Damon gave me a teasing smile, "I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable, that's not my intention."  
>I rolled my eyes, "Yes it is." I said matter-of-factly, "Otherwise you wouldn't put an alternate meaning behind everything you say."<br>"You're right," his smile turned to a smirk. "I do have other intentions. But so do you."  
>I raised an eyebrow, "Really?"<br>He nodded. "Mmm hmm," he said, "I see them. You want me."  
>"Excuse me?"<br>He gradually leaned closer to me. "I get you. You find yourself drawn to me. You think about me even when you don't want to think about me. I bet you even dreamed about me," that made a jolt go through me, because I had, "And right now," our faces were an inch apart, "You want to kiss me."  
>And I did, at that moment, with his eyes staring into mine, our breath mingling, I wanted to, and I almost did, but then Caroline came into the back of my mind. He was her boyfriend.<br>I slapped him, hard, across the face, and he stumbled a step away from me, looking shocked.  
>"What the hell?" I shouted, "I don't know what game you're trying to play with Stefan and Elena here, but I don't want to be part of it. And I don't know what happened in the past, but let's get one thing straight," I dropped my voice," Elena, me… We are not Katherine."<p>

*STEFAN*  
>"Are you going to be able to play?" Matt asked me awkwardly. I sent him a smile.<br>"Oh, yeah, I'm good,"  
>"Uh, what you did back there… you had Jeremy's back." The boy sounded a bit surprised.<br>"Ah, he's a messed up kid. Somebody's got to look out for him." I shrugged like it was nothing.  
>"I know," and he did, "This week at practise I was a dick."<br>"Had your reasons." I allowed.  
>"No excuse." He held out his hand for me to shake, and I took it proudly. "Good luck tonight. We're lucky to have you."<br>He left.  
>"Isn't that nice?" Damon materialized from the shadows, a sinister look on his face. "Stefan joins a team, make a friend. It's all so, 'rah, rah, go team, yeah'!"<br>"Not tonight," this was getting tedious, "I'm done with you."  
>"Nice trick with Lucinda," he walked toward me. "Let me guess… vervain in the necklace? I admit, I was a bit surprised. It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion." He smirked, "Where'd you get it?"<br>"Does it matter?"  
>"Guess I could just seduce her the old fashioned way. Or I could just… eat her."<br>"No." I said confidently, "You're not going to hurt her, Damon."  
>"No?<br>"Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels for her. I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you way have actually become the monster you pretend to be."  
>"Who's pretending," he broke in.<br>I continued, "The kill me."  
>"Well," he shrugged, "I'm tempted."<br>"No, you're not." I shook my head. "You've had lifetimes to do it, and yet, here I am. I'm still alive. And there you are. You're still haunting me. After 145 years. Katherine is dead," he flinched, "And you hate me because you loved her, and you torture me because you still do. And that, my brother, is your humanity."  
>Mr Tanner walked to us, looking impatient, "Salvatore, what the hell, we've got a game to play!"<br>"If that's my humanity," Damon's eyes looked crazed, "Then what's this?"  
>He lunged at Tanner, his face in his neck, teeth tearing at the exposed flesh and I could only watch in horror. It lasted a few moments before he pulled away, moth stained with red. The teacher's body dropped to the gorund.<br>"Anyone," he said, "Anytime, anyplace."  
>And then he was gone.<p>

*LUCINDA*  
>Bonnie and I stood by the edge of the newly placed police tape. It was then that I saw the numbers.<br>"8," I said, and Bonnie followed my gaze. Her eyes latched onto something else.  
>"14," she muttered.<br>"22," we said together.  
>Bonnie burst into tears.<p>

Bonnie had gone home, and now I was with Elena and Stefan. My sister was crying, but he just looked guilty.  
>"What kind of animal could be doing all this?" My sister sobbed, "Why would it come out of the woods and attack someone in the middle of town?"<br>"I don't know," Stefan said, but he was lying, "I don't know."  
>"I was so sure that you cut your hand," he pulled her into a hug; "I saw it."<br>"I'm fine." He insisted, "I'm fine, okay? We're fine, that's all that matters." He met my eyes, "We're all fine."

*STEFAN*  
>I thought there was hope that somewhere deep inside, something in Damon was still human, normal, but I was wrong. There's nothing human left in Damon. No good, no kindness, no love. Only a monster who must be stopped.<br>*DAMON*  
>I gently stroked my hand down Lucinda face. She was sleeping, so she didn't know I was there. I smiled; she looked so beautiful, so peaceful. So unlike Katherine.<br>Her eyelids fluttered, and I was gone before she could see me.


End file.
